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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26629663">Chimaera part 3</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArthurFloppit/pseuds/ArthurFloppit'>ArthurFloppit</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Chimaera [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:26:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>50,778</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26629663</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArthurFloppit/pseuds/ArthurFloppit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Chimaera [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1094346</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 1<br/>Monday 1st June 1998</p><p>In which Tom Bradley makes a discovery</p><p> </p><p>    King’s Cross railway station, on this particular afternoon at the very beginning of June, was as usual bustling with people going to and coming from the trains. Tickets were being purchased and small groups of people were gazing up at the display board announcing arrivals and departures. A woman could be seen carrying a heavy-looking suitcase, her free hand gripped tightly by a small child. A man was sitting on a bench, his face hidden behind a newspaper. The headlines were clearly visible to anyone passing:</p><p>
  <em>Attacks on facilities up and down the country intensify</em>
  <br/>
  <em>PM calls emergency meeting of cabinet</em>
</p><p>    A noisy group of children, on their way back to school after half term, were filing onto Platform 10 while an elderly couple with a small dog hastened onto Platform 9 where the train they were catching was about to leave. Neither the children nor the elderly couple took any notice whatsoever of the brick wall that separated the two platforms. There was no reason why they should for it was an ordinary brick wall, reaching up to and supporting the cast iron girders that made up the roof. It was identical to all the other brick walls separating one platform from another. However, if were you a certain type of person standing before it on a particular day of the week in a particular month of the year, you would have regarded it very differently. For you, it was the gateway to a hidden platform, Platform 9¾, and having passed through the wall by magical means - for you would have been a magical sort of person - you would have seen the Hogwarts Express standing before you, a gleaming red steam train that would take you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, all the way up in Scotland.<br/>    On this particular day, Platform 9¾ should have been empty save possibly for the Hogwarts Express standing silently alongside the platform, waiting to make the long journey north to pick up students at the end of the school year next month. But things were not as they should have been. The Hogwarts Express was not there and eight people, one of them with an owl perched on his shoulder, were seated on the benches situated along the wall at the back of the platform. They had been there a while and seemed somewhat at a loss as to what to do next. Their heads were bowed and until a girl called Sally broke the silence, nothing had been said for quite some time.<br/>    “If we could get off this platform, we could find the right one to take us up to Letchworth. We should be safe at my parents’ house. If the goblins are still after us, they know about Grimmauld Place, Saxon Cottage and the Leaky Cauldron so they wouldn’t be safe places to go to, but they don’t know about my parents’ house so I was thinking...”<br/>   As she was speaking, Sally was looking round for the barrier which marked the usual way for passengers to get on and off a platform. She couldn’t see one. She turned to Hermione, one of the two other girls that made up the small party.<br/>   “Where’s the way off the platform?”<br/>   “Over there, through there.” Hermione pointed to a brick wall. There was no sign of a door.<br/>   “I can’t see how...”<br/>   “When I said through there, I meant it literally. You run at the wall and just, well, go through it. It sort of dissolves in front of you. That’s how you get in as well, from the other side. Hermione stopped speaking and a frown appeared on her face. “At least that’s how it works at the beginning and end of term but I’m not sure about other times. Any volunteers to throw themselves at the wall and see what happens?”<br/>There was a moment’s silence as the others took in what she was saying.<br/>   “I don’t think we can ask Peggy or Mr. O. to risk knocking their teeth out, can we!” This came from Ron, one of the three boys in the group. He paused and seemed to be considering something. The elderly lady to whom he referred and who was seated next to him, grinned and poked his arm.<br/>   “I know what’s going through your mind, you rascal! You’re thinking Garrick and I don’t have many teeth left to knock out and don’t want to lose the few that remain! Am I right?”<br/>   “No, ’course not, Peggy! ’course I wasn’t thinking that!” Ron was speaking far too fast and his face had turned bright red, providing an interesting contrast to his carrot-coloured hair. “I’m sure you and Mr. O. have plenty of teeth, all your own, and...I’ll...um...won’t be a moment.” He stood up quickly and started walking hastily in the direction of the door that led into a storeroom they had been through to get onto the platform.<br/>   “Oh dear, I’ve upset him.” Peggy stood up. “I’ll go and apologise.”<br/>   “No need to do that. Knowing Ron, you’re probably right! Anyway look, here he comes.” Hermione pointed towards the storeroom door where Ron appeared, wheeling one of the narrow trolleys they had seen in there and which they assumed were used to sell food and drink to students on the Hogwarts Express.<br/>   “I’ll do it,” he said as he approached. “When Hermione, Harry and I got to King’s Cross,” he explained to Sally and her companions Sam and Tom, “we always had quite a bit of luggage with us so we used the station trolleys and wheeled them at the wall when no one was looking. I thought if I used one of these now, then if it doesn’t work, I’ll still have me teeth!” Ron grinned sheepishly at Peggy and Mr. Ollivander.<br/>   “That’s really clever, Ron. I wouldn’t have thought of that.” This came from Harry, the remaining boy in the group.<br/>   “Genius, mate. Not many of us about.”<br/>   “Ron, can we just see if we can get off this platform, please? Go on, give it a go but don’t hurt yourself.”<br/>   “Hey Harry, she cares! Hermy cares!”<br/>   “’course she does. Give me Pigwidgeon...and Ron?”<br/>   “What?”<br/>   “Watch your teeth!”<br/>   Ron grinned and passed the owl on his shoulder across to Harry. He then wheeled the trolley over to the spot Hermione had indicated. He lined it up in front of him and looked round at the others before running full tilt at the wall. There was a bang as the trolley hit the brickwork and Ron’s chest made contact with the handle, winding him slightly. When he had recovered, he made his way slowly over to the others, shaking his head sadly from side to side.<br/>   “Ribs hurt a bit but still got me teeth!”<br/>   “Well, it seems to me that we have no option but to retrace our steps. We cannot leave the platform by conventional means and Mr. Bradley...Tom...has told us there’s an impenetrable brick wall over there.” As he spoke, Mr. Ollivander pointed across the railway lines towards a line of trees through which was visible part of a high brick wall.<br/>   “We could of course,” he continued, “follow the railway lines down the track and look for a way out of the station that way but I think that would be exceedingly dangerous and Peggy and I, not being in the first flush of youth, might find it rather heavy going.”<br/>   The others could find no fault in his reasoning and nodded their agreement sombrely. None were very keen on the idea of going back to The Leakey Cauldron, an inn on Charing Cross Road from which they had fled to avoid being caught by goblins armed with wands they had stolen from Mr. Ollivander’s wand shop in Diagon Alley. Nevertheless, they stood up and slowly made their way disconsolately over to the storeroom where there was a door at the back which gave access to a tunnel leading to a small platform and the converted mail train they had used to get from the Leaky Cauldron to King’s Cross Station.<br/>   “Where’s Tom?” Sam was looking round the storeroom.<br/>   “I didn’t see him come. I’ll go and look.” This came from Harry who turned and walked back to the door leading onto the platform. He opened it and went out. A couple of minutes passed before his head appeared round the door.<br/>   “Tom says you’ve all got to come and have a look. He’s found something.” Harry opened the door wide and beckoned. The others looked at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces before making their way back on to the platform. Tom was down on the tracks to their left standing by some buffers. He waved to them excitedly.<br/>   “I only noticed it as we were going into the storeroom,” he explained excitedly as he looked up at them. “It’s hard to see because of the trees and ivy...look.” He pointed across the rails towards what looked like quite a large building, partly hidden behind two large sycamore trees. There appeared to be a row of arched windows set high up on a brick wall most of which were obscured not only by the trees but by ivy.<br/>   “Tom, that’s not going to help us get off the platform, is it! It’s just an old building, probably a disused engine shed. Come on up off the rails. It’s dangerous down there!”<br/>   “No it’s not, Sam. We’re talking steam trains here, not electric. Look, there’s no third rail to electrocute me. But you’re right about the building, it is an old engine shed and you really must all come and have a look. Go to the end of the platform and use the ramp to get down on to the tracks. I’ll see you over there.” With that Tom turned and picked his way across the weed-covered tracks towards the building.<br/>Somewhat reluctantly, the others made their way to the end of the platform and down the ramp. Ron took special pains to make sure Peggy and Mr. Ollivander came to no harm as they made their way slowly over the tracks. He flattened any well-grown weeds that might have hindered their progress and lent a hand as they stepped over the rails.<br/>   After a few minutes, they all joined Tom who was standing before a couple of large wooden doors about fifteen feet high with rusting hinges and peeling green paint. Two pairs of rails disappeared under them. Tom took hold of one of the doors and pulled it open sufficiently for him to enter the building. He disappeared inside and after a slight pause the others followed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 2<br/>Monday June 1st</p>
<p>In which Ron surprises them all</p>
<p>   When they were all inside, Tom pushed the door closed saying something about the need for secrecy with goblins out looking for them. This was sensible advice but closing the door had the effect of making it even darker inside than it already was, the ivy growing over the windows keeping out much of the light. They all stepped cautiously forward making sure they did not trip over the rails. Ron once again gave a hand to Peggy and Mr. Ollivander.<br/>   “I’ve found a light switch.” Tom’s voice came from somewhere to their left. “Here we go.”<br/>   Suddenly the darkness was banished and they all blinked in the bright light coming from two rows of lamps set high up in the roof, the large light bulbs housed in sooty and chipped enamelled metal industrial-sized lampshades. But it was not this that drew their attention. Looming over them stood a steam train. Hermione, Harry and Ron knew immediately it was not the Hogwarts Express. For a start it was not bright red but black and didn’t look as though it had been in use for quite a long time. It was covered in dust and grime, and any birds who had found their way into the engine shed had left evidence of being there. To its right and on a parallel track stood a solitary railway carriage. It, too, looked old with dark brown wooden sides and doors and a matt black convex roof with a row of circular air vents along the top. With the possible exception of Peggy and Mr. Ollivander, it was the sort of carriage that Sam, Sally and Tom had only seen in old films. Sam immediately thought of Murder on the Orient Express.<br/>   “It looks very old.” Tom was staring at the train and was speaking as much to himself as to the others. “Look at the how tall the chimney is.” He turned to Harry who was standing beside him. “Does the Hogwarts Express have a chimney like that?”<br/>   “Shorter. How old do you think it is?”<br/>   “I would guess the 1860s or 70s; and it’s not one of the early Great Western ones because they ran on a seven-foot gauge because Isambard Kingdom….”<br/>   “…Tom, please!” Sam interrupted him. “Your history lesson is all very interesting but none of this is going to get us to Hogwarts, is it!”<br/>   “No, sorry. I wonder if it still runs. If it does, we’d need a driver of course and...”<br/>   “…oh, come on! Look at it. It hasn’t been used in ages! It’s probably over a century since it last moved!”<br/>   “You’re right, Sam.” This came from Ron who, while they were talking, had climbed up into the cab. His face now appeared from the doorway, looking down at them. “It’s a very old engine but it’s all in one piece. Come up and have a look.”<br/>   When they were all in the cab - Mr. Ollivander and Peggy were grateful for the step ladder Tom had found propped up against a wall - Ron pointed to various levers and brass gauges.<br/>   “They’re not rusty or damaged at all,” he explained. “It doesn’t look as though it’s been driven recently but I think it would go if...”<br/>   “...if we had someone here who could drive it, but we don’t, Ron; and steam trains don’t just need a driver, they need water and coal, don’t they. We can’t just wave a wand to get it going, can we!” Hermione sat down heavily on the metal shelf at the back of the cab which served as a seat. She was surprised to see an old stained cushion next to her. She moved over and sat on it.<br/>   “No, we can’t but we have water and coal. Look and behold your tender behind!<br/>   “This isn’t the time for your silly rude jokes, Ron, it really isn’t!”<br/>   “This isn’t actually a silly rude joke, Hermy. If you look, you’ll see what I mean.”<br/>   Hermione stood up and saw that the steam train was coupled to a wagon loaded with coal. Tom was laughing as he expanded on what Ron was saying.<br/>   “Ron’s quite right! The wagon behind the train is a called a tender and as it’s behind the train it’s a...well...tender behind!” Seeing Sam glaring at him, Tom became more serious and turned to Ron.<br/>   “How come you know so much about Muggle steam trains?”<br/>   “Through my Dad. He’s really fascinated by Muggle technology and I remember one evening when I was younger, he showed me a picture book which explained all about steam trains and how they worked.” Ron pointed to the array of levers, valves, gauges and dials. “You turn that red handle on the right to go backwards or forwards and you lift that large red lever to get steam into the pistons. That gauge tells you steam pressure and that...” he pointed to a glass tube about six inches long, “...tells you if you have enough water in the boiler. There’s the firebox.” He pointed to a hole at floor level. Peering down and looking into it, the others could see a heap of ash on a long cast iron grate.<br/>   “That’s all very well and interesting, Ron, but if you’re thinking of travelling up to Hogwarts in this train, you keep forgetting we don’t have a driver. I don’t know who drives the Hogwarts Express but whoever he is, he’s not around and we don’t know where he lives.” Hermione stopped speaking and glared at Harry who had burst out laughing.<br/>   “Now what’s so funny?”<br/>   “I’ve just realised what’s going on in Ron’s little mind! He’s not thinking about finding the driver of the Hogwarts Express, he’s going to tell us he can drive us there himself!”<br/>   “Actually mate, I was, since you mention it.”<br/>   “You’re joking, aren’t you? You really are joking!” Harry stopped laughing abruptly and turned to the others. “This is a person who nearly got us both killed driving - and I use the word loosely - a flying Ford Anglia car to Hogwarts. It was one of the scariest moments of my life and I’ve had plenty of those, I can tell you!”<br/>   “I don’t know why you’re saying that, Potter. We got there, didn’t we? If we hadn’t got to the school, we’d have been in big trouble. I saved us from all that.”<br/>   “We were in big trouble anyway, Ron, but that was nothing to nearly being killed!”<br/>   “But we weren’t, were we.” Ron glared at his friend and turned to the others. “I’m just saying I think I could get this train going and get us to Hogwarts which is where we want to go, isn’t it? Anyway, what’s the alternative? We can’t get off the platform and we’ve all agreed it’s too dangerous going up the tracks and risk either being run over by a Muggle train or electrocuted. If we go back to the Leaky Cauldron we’ll be caught by goblins and who knows what they’ll do to us! We don’t have broomsticks and even if we did, it would be difficult to get us all up to Scotland; and we’ve all agreed apparating’s not on and Floo powder’s too risky, especially as the Ministry may have fallen. I think this train is our only chance.”<br/>   “That car you...”<br/>   “…yeah OK, Harry, it was pretty scary, I admit that, but you’re forgetting something. My dad had bewitched that car so it could fly and I didn’t know how to use it because I’d never driven one before.”<br/>    “But you’ve driven a Muggle steam train before, is that what you’re saying?”<br/>   “No, I’m not, ’course I haven’t but thanks to Dad I know how they work; and you’re forgetting something else. Like I said, Dad bewitched that car but I don’t think this train is bewitched and I doubt if the Hogwarts Express is either. They’re both just ordinary old Muggle steam trains. If it was bewitched, why would it have a tender behind with coal and water?”<br/>   “OK, all that may be true,” put in Hermione, “but what about the track? There must be some sort of enchantment there because it’s a long way to Scotland and Muggles seem totally unaware of hundreds of Hogwarts students making their way north in an old steam train several times a year.”<br/>   “I don’t know about the track, I was only talking about the trains.”<br/>   “I know that, Ron, but the train runs on the track and unless they’re made safe by some sort of enchantment it could be very dangerous. You could hit a train coming the other way head on. There’s another problem as well. If there are enchantments protecting the line, what if they only work at the beginning and end of term? What if it’s like the wall you bashed into. Getting through it seems only to be possible on those days and at other times it can’t be used. The railway lines might operate in the same way.”<br/>   There was a moment’s silence as they all thought about what Hermione was saying. Then Peggy spoke.<br/>   “I don’t think any of us could disagree with that. We really don’t know how the Hogwarts Express gets all the way to Scotland without being seen by Muggles, or worse hitting a Muggle train coming the other way. But it does manage it and I believe it travels back and forth between Hogwarts and King’s Cross at other times, too, and without mishap. I remember reading about that somewhere, possibly in Bathilda’s ‘A History of Magic’. There may be a whole Ministry of Magic Department dedicated to the Hogwarts Express. But like you rightly say Hermione, we don’t know if what they put in place works all the year round.”<br/>   “I’ve just thought of something else.” This came from Harry. “If the ministry really has fallen like George told us, then there’s even more risk driving this train up to Scotland. The possible protection we’re talking about may not be working at all, even at times when it should.”<br/>   “I still think we should risk it,” persisted Peggy “If Ron really can get this old train to go, I think we should try and get up to Hogwarts. The risks we take in making this journey have to balanced out against those we face if we’re caught by Goblins.”<br/>   There was a silence as, again, they all took in what was being said. After further discussion, Mr. Ollivander spoke.<br/>   “Let us vote on it. Raise your hand if you are in favour of Ron trying to get this old train going and taking us to Hogwarts. He raised his hand and Ron and Peggy swiftly did the same. They were followed by Sally, Sam and Tom. Only Hermione and Harry hesitated but accepted they were outvoted and Hermione asked Mr. Ollivander what he thought should happen next.<br/>   “Well, obviously the most important thing is to get this old thing going.” He turned to Ron. “How are you going to do this?”<br/>   “I need to make sure we have plenty of water on board for the boiler. The tender should have a water tank so we need to see if it’s got water in it and fill it up if it hasn’t. We also need coal. There’s already some on the tender but maybe not enough for the journey so we need to find more.”<br/>   “May I suggest then,” continued Mr. Ollivander, “that the younger ones give Ron a hand while Peggy and I see what state the carriage is in and bring over some of the food we saw in the storeroom. I am assuming that if you can get the train going you can attach it to the carriage. Is that so?”<br/>   “That should be no problem provided there are some points we can shift. Don’t bother lugging stuff over here, though. If I can get the train going, I’ll bring it and the carriage up alongside the platform so it it’ll be easier to get us and stuff on board. We’ll also be on the right track to get us to Hogwarts.”<br/>   Everyone thought this a good idea but before they set to work, Peggy made one final suggestion.<br/>   “If we manage to get the train going, I suggest we set off in the morning. We’re all going to be tired and driving through the night might be dangerous even if we are less likely to be seen. I don’t know about you, Garrick, but I could also do with a bit of a breather.”<br/>   “My thoughts exactly, Peggy. Let’s leave the young ones to sort out the train while we have a bit of a rest before looking out some food from the storeroom to keep us going on what, I fear, may be a long and possibly dangerous journey.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 3<br/>Tuesday 2nd June</p><p>In which preparations are made</p><p>   The sun rose early on the Tuesday. At King’s Cross station there was no one around at this hour. The blinds were pulled down in the ticket offices and trains and carriages stood silently alongside the platforms. On Platform 9¾ it was no different except that the train and a single carriage which were pulled up alongside the platform were considerably older.<br/>   It had been close on midnight before Ron had been satisfied they had sufficient coal on board. Tom had found a heap of it in one of the far corners of the engine shed and it had taken Ron, Harry and himself several hours to load it onto the tender. They had made use of two wooden wheelbarrows, two shovels and a couple of old pails standing nearby. Using the shovels, Ron and Tom had loaded up the wheelbarrows with coal. Harry had then taken one of them to the train where Sam had put it into the pails using an old spade she had found. They had then been passed up to Sally who tipped the coal onto the tender. Harry then returned with the empty wheelbarrow and had repeated the process while Tom refilled the one he had just returned. This was repeated many times before sufficient coal had been loaded up.<br/>   While this was going on, Hermione had found a length of hosepipe and attached one end to a tap located on the wall nearest the platform. She had taken the other end to the back of the tender where there was a circular hinged cap at the back, secured with a large butterfly nut. She had undone the cap and inserted the hose before returning to turn on the tap. She had then climbed up into the cab to help Sally loading the coal while at the same time keeping an eye on the glass tube which indicated the level of water on board.<br/>   The moment had finally come when Ron had said he was ready to light the fire in the firebox and try and get the train going. Bits of wood were found and laid on the grate before coal was piled on top. Hermione had then pointed Peggy’s wand at the wood and said ‘Incendio’. To the amazement of Sam, Sally and Tom, flames had shot out of the end and in a very short time good fire was going. Ron had said it would take a while to get sufficient steam up and while this was happening they needed to check for points so that he could reverse the train down the second pair of rails leading into the engine shed and couple it up to the carriage. Tom and Harry had set off up the tracks and with the aid of Tom’s torch had located a lever which operated some points. They had checked they were the right ones and that they could move it. Finding they were able to do this, they had returned to the engine shed to tell Ron.<br/>   It had been over an hour before Ron, checking some of the gauges in front of him in the cab, had said it was time to try and get the engine moving. Peggy, Mr. Ollivander, Sam, Sally, Hermione and Tom had gathered by the engine shed doors and had looked anxiously up at the cab. A moment later there had been a hiss of steam and a slight movement of the pistons. Then the large wheels turned, accompanied by the familiar chuff-chuff-chuff noise together with clanking and wheezing, and the train edged had forward towards the doors before coming to a halt. Ron’s grinning face had appeared from the cab, Pigwidgeon perched on his shoulder. His appearance had been greeted by cheers and clapping. Harry and Tom had then returned to the points and watched as the train moved slowly towards them. When he had passed them, Ron had brought the train to halt. Harry and Tom had then pulled at the lever which shifted part of the rail to a different position, allowing the train to change tracks. Ron had then reversed it slowly back towards the engine shed until it had been within few feet of the carriage. Hermione had helped him inch it towards the buffers on the carriage until there had been a bump as it made contact with them. Harry and Tom had lifted the heavy chain on the carriage onto a large hook on the train and then joined up two pipes which Ron had thought were something to do with the braking and heating systems.</p><p>     ***</p><p>   Now, in the dawn of the new day, train and carriage stood silently alongside the platform. The only movement came from Ron in the cab, keeping the fire alight in the fire box, and smoke issuing gently from the chimney. Satisfied, he stretched out on the shelf at the back of the cab and using the old cushion as a pillow fell into a fitful sleep. He, like the others, was very tired after all their exertions.<br/>   The sun rose higher into a cloudless sky, promising a warm and pleasant day. Now there was movement in the carriage and Hermione opened the door and stepped onto the platform before making her way towards the train and climbing up into the cab where she found Ron sitting up, stretching his arms and yawning.<br/>   “You OK, Ron?”<br/>   “Yeah. Bit tired though.”<br/>   “We all are but you were amazing getting the train going!”<br/>   “I remembered lots of that stuff Dad told me about Muggle steam trains. It wasn’t that hard, really.”<br/>   “I don’t think any of us would have been able to do it. You were brilliant. Do you think we’ll be able to get to Hogwarts?”<br/>   “Don’t see why not. We won’t run out of coal but I don’t know about the water. Normally, these old steam trains took water onboard during the journey. There were these tanks at the track side with large pipes that could be swung over the train, allowing you to fill up the tank on the tender but I just don’t know if there are any around anymore.”<br/>   “The Hogwarts Express is a steam train like this one, Ron, so it would need to take on water too, wouldn’t it?”<br/>   “Yeah, it would and I remember it did stop on the journey up so maybe that’s what it was doing. Let’s hope we’ll be able to do so as well. Of course, the other thing we don’t know about is if the line will be safe for us.”<br/>   “No, we don’t. Anyway, look, come and have some breakfast. We’re all going over to the waiting room. Peggy and Mr. O. have found some bread and butter in the store room and Peggy was talking about making some toast using the old gas fire there.”<br/>   “Sounds great. You go ahead while I just check the firebox.”</p><p>***</p><p>   When Ron and Pigwidgeon arrived at the waiting room, he found Mr. Ollivander, Hermione, Sam, Sally and Tom seated round a large wooden table. Peggy was holding two slices of bread in front of a gas fire, using a couple of forks she had found in the storeroom. She looked up as Ron came in.<br/>   “Sit yourself down Mr. Engine Driver. Toast is on its way. Butter’s on the table and we found some strawberry jam. There’s no tea or coffee, I’m afraid, but there’s some lemonade. We couldn’t find any cups or mugs so we’ll all have to drink out of the bottles.”<br/>   After what everyone regarded as a much-needed meal, Ron said he thought they ought to make a start. He told them he didn’t want to waste coal, while they were stationery. They tidied up the waiting room and washed up the cutlery and plates in a small wash basin in one of the toilets. Peggy then took them back to the store room. While she was there, she thought it would be a good idea to lock the door at the back which led on to the short passageway leading down to the platform serving the narrow-gauge railway they had used to get to King’s Cross. If the goblins, she reasoned, had worked out how they had escaped from the Leaky Cauldron and were following them, locking the door would slow them down. She then thought it would also be a good idea to lock the one leading onto the platform itself. She moved toward the door at the back of the store room and opened it to wide to allow in as much light as possible into the passage way. It took only a short while to reach the little station where she stood for a moment, looking and listening. The train and its two carriages were still alongside the platform and there was no sign that anyone had been there. Peggy stood for a moment longer but as she turned to leave but something made her pause. She sensed something was not as it had been when they were there before but she could not make out what it was. She stepped further on to the platform and her eyes followed the track to her left where it disappeared into the blackness of the tunnel that led towards the Leakey Cauldron, quite some distance away. All seemed as it had been when they arrived but Peggy still felt a sense of unease. What was it that was different? She moved towards the end of the platform and peered into the tunnel - still nothing but that strange whispering noise all tunnels make. Peggy had a childhood memory of standing behind a fence near a railway tunnel and hearing this sound before it was accompanied by a ‘singing’ of the rails as a train approached. This had intensified before the train had burst out of the tunnel and roared past her just a few feet away.<br/>   Peggy returned to the door which led off the platform and paused again. What was it? And then it came to her. It wasn’t anything she was seeing, it was something she was hearing. Her thoughts returned to that childhood memory of standing before the tunnel and listening to that hollow, eerie whispering sound. That was what was different. The sound she remembered was here accompanied by something else. Mixed in with it was the sound of very distant and very faint voices. Peggy moved quickly off the platform and into the passage, locking the door behind her. Back in the store room, she locked the second door before hastening back to the waiting room where the others had been waiting anxiously for her.<br/>   “Peggy, where have you been? We’ve been worried.” This came from Mr. Ollivander.<br/>   “I took the spoons and plates we were using back to the store room and thought it would be a good idea to lock the door from the little station and the one at the back of the store room. This would slow the goblins down if they were following us.” Peggy looked at them all with a worried expression on her face. “I can’t be absolutely certain but I think they may be coming down the tunnel.”<br/>   “What, the tunnel from the little railway to the store room?” Hermione stood up quickly and reached for the wand lying on the table in front of her.<br/>   “No, the train tunnel from the Leaky Cauldron. I thought I could hear voices, very distant and faint.”<br/>   “We must go...now! Come on.” Ron hastened towards the waiting room door and the others followed.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 4<br/>Tuesday 2nd June</p><p>In which they travel northwards</p><p>   Ron moved quickly down the platform and clambered up into the engine cab. Tom passed his rucksack to Sam, and ran after him.<br/>   “You’ll need someone to keep the fire going, Ron, won’t you?”<br/>   “Yeah, good thinking mate, you can be the fireman! There’s a shovel under the bench there. Throw some more coal into the firebox while I check the steam pressure.”<br/>   While Ron and Tom were busy in the engine cab, Peggy, Mr. Ollivander, Sally, Hermione, Sam and Harry boarded the carriage and sat down in one of the compartments looking nervously at one another. After a minute or so, when there was still no movement, Hermione stood up<br/>   “Why aren’t we moving? What’s Ron doing?”<br/>   “He probably needs to get steam up.” This came from Sam.<br/>   “I’m really worried the goblins will be here any minute.”<br/>   “I don’t think so,” put in Peggy. “The voices I heard - if they were actually voices at all - sounded very distant.”<br/>   “Yes, but we don’t know for sure and…” Hermione never finished the sentence because the carriage suddenly gave a lurch which caused her to fall backwards onto the seat. She quickly sat back up and peered out of the window, a look of relief on her face. They were finally moving. The platform slipped out of sight. In the engine cab, Ron turned to Harry.<br/>   “I’m going to go very slowly for a bit. We don’t know how safe it is. Can you keep an eye out for red lights? I remember Dad telling me you have to stop if you see one.”<br/>   “Yeah, you definitely do! You hear of accidents occurring when trains go through red lights. In fact, it’s the...”<br/>   “...yeah, thanks for that, mate, just what I needed to hear!”<br/>   “You’re welcome.” Tom grinned at Ron and they both quickly turned to peer out of the cab<br/>windows. The train continued to move slowly forwards, changing track several times as it left King’s Cross behind before moving on to a straight stretch.<br/>   “How do we know going in the right direction?” Ron still sounded worried.<br/>   “We don’t, we just hope we are. Keep going, you’re doing fine; and we’re heading north which is a good sign.”<br/>   “How do you know that?”<br/>   “From the position of the sun, Ron. Didn’t they teach you anything useful at Hogwarts?”<br/>   “Lots of useful things, mate, but not that sort of stuff.”<br/>   “Red light coming up.” Tom shaded his eyes and peered down the track. “Yep, definitely a red light so you’d better...wait...hang on... it’s gone green. We’re OK, no need to stop.”<br/>Ron kept the train going slowly forward and Tom periodically shovelled coal into the firebox. It was hot work and before long he was sweating profusely. They both continued to keep a careful watch out for red lights and saw several but just as Ron was about to stop the train, they changed to green. After nearly an hour during which time they had not needed to stop once, he turned to Tom.<br/>   “I don’t think it’s coincidence.”<br/>   “What’s not?”<br/>   “These red lights turning green as we approach. I think it’d deliberate. I think they are being controlled somehow to let us go forward safely.”<br/>   “You could be right and there are two other things I’ve noticed.”<br/>   “What are those?”<br/>   “First of all, the points. We’ve changed track several times haven’t we, especially when we left King’s Cross. Most seem to have been preset but a couple of them...well...I swear they moved as we approached. The lever that operates them moved, Ron, I’m sure it did!”<br/>   “Well, it makes sense. If the lights are being controlled in some way, why not the points. It’s what we were all wondering, wasn’t it? How does the Hogwarts Express get all the way up to Scotland without crashing into another train or getting itself on to the wrong track and landing up in somewhere like Little Hangelton or Godric’s Hollow?”<br/>   “Unlikely, Ron. Neither are anywhere near a railway line!<br/>   “You know what I mean! What’s the other thing you noticed?”<br/>   “The railway sleepers. Most of them nowadays are made of concrete but the older ones are wooden and sometimes we’ve been running along a length of track with wooden ones which probably means we’re off the main line and maybe on stretch of disused railway line.”<br/>   “That makes sense too. Anyway, look, I reckon I can get her going a bit faster now that we think the route is safe. What do you think?”<br/>   “Go for it, Ron. Open her up!”</p><p>***</p><p>   Peggy, Mr. Ollivander, Hermione, Sam, Sally and Harry, sitting in the carriage compartment, immediately noticed the increase in speed.<br/>   “What’s Ron up to, now? Do you think he’s lost control?” Hermione still sounded nervous.<br/>   “I don’t think so,” replied Harry reassuringly. “The speed’s increased but it’s steady now. We’ve been going for well over an hour now so he probably thinks it’s safe to go a bit faster.”<br/>   “But we still don’t know that, do we?”<br/>   “Maybe they’ve seen something we haven’t. Ron seemed pretty confident about driving the train and he’s done pretty well so far.” This came from Sam.<br/>   The others nodded their agreement and Hermione leant back in her seat but still cast anxious glances out the window every now and again.<br/>   “Sally, there’s something I have been meaning to ask you.” Mr. Ollivander felt a distraction was needed to take their minds off the potential dangers of the journey. “I wonder if I might have a look at that wand of yours, the one you found propping up the plant Bathilda Bagshot gave you.”<br/>   “Of course you can. Sam, can you get Tom’s rucksack down, please. It’s in there.”<br/>   Sam stood and reached up to the rack behind her and pulled down Tom’s rucksack. She undid the strap and felt inside for the wand. She pulled it out carefully and passed it to Mr Ollivander before putting the rucksack back on the rack and sitting down. All eyes were then on the wandmaker as he held it up and studied it carefully for several minutes before looking round at the others.<br/>   “Well, this is most interesting, most interesting!”<br/>   “Is it one of yours?” asked Hermione<br/>   “No, it is not. Despite it being very old and worn, making it difficult to make out its features, I can say with certainty it is not one of mine. But as to its provenance...I wonder...Harry, would you...?” Mr. Ollivander leant forward and passed the wand to Harry who took it and turned it over gingerly with his fingers. His expression gave very little away but Hermione seemed to sense something.<br/>   “What is it, Harry?”<br/>   “Don’t know. It seems - it feels - sort of familiar but it can’t be because...”<br/>   “...because it’s buried with Professor Dumbledore up at Hogwarts.”<br/>   “Yeah, exactly.”<br/>Hermione and Harry looked anxiously at each other before turning to Mr. Ollivander who nodded slowly and held out his hand. Harry passed him the wand and he stared thoughtfully at it again for a moment before turning to Sally.<br/>   “Did Bathilda ever say anything to you about a wand in connection with the plant?”<br/>   “No, I don’t think so. The plant was given to me when I was very young. All I remember is my parents telling me it was a present from an old and dear friend of theirs. They never mentioned a wand, they just said I should look after it, the plant that is. Why are you all so interested? It looks to me like Bathilda needed something to prop up the plant and used an old wand. That’s what my Dad thought, too”<br/>   “That may very well be so,” continue Mr. Ollivander, “but the thing is when I first saw it...”<br/>   “...you thought it looked a bit like the Elder Wand?”<br/>   “That is true. How did you arrive at that conclusion?”<br/>   “From your reaction and that of Hermione’s and Harry’s.” Sally turned to Peggy. “You and Ginny mentioned the Elder Wand when we came to your house in Steyning, didn’t you?” Peggy nodded.<br/>   “Riddle had it, didn’t he?” Sally was now looking at Harry as she spoke. “You were able to defeat him because you were its true master.”<br/>   “Yeah, that’s right. It’s a bit complicated but Riddle thought one of our teachers, Professor Snape, was its master because Professor Dumbledore had been killed by him. But he was wrong. Professor Dumbledore was its master because, as he had actually asked Professor Snape to kill him, the wand’s allegiance did not change. It was a boy called Malfoy who had actually disarmed him and as I later defeated him, I became its master and that’s how I was able to defeat Riddle. But to see this…” Harry indicated the wand held by Mr. Ollivander, “well, it’s weird.”<br/>   “Not really so strange, Harry,” replied the wand maker, “and your reaction when you handled it was probably due to the association you made because of its appearance. Over the centuries, the design of the Elder Wand has been copied countless times by wand makers from drawings they have come across. There have even been those who have even tried to give their copies the powers of the original. I am not one of them, I hasten to add!”<br/>   “Where did the Elder Wand actually come from? Who made it and how old is it?” asked Sam.<br/>   “Very old,” answered Harry, “but no one really knows how old. As to who made it...” He turned to Hermione. “...tell Sally and Sam about the Peverell brothers.”<br/>   For answer Hermione put her hand in the beaded bag she always seemed to have with her and pulled out a small worn book.<br/>   “This,” she explained, “was given to me by Professor Dumbledore in his will. It’s a little book of old stories called The Tales if Beedle the Bard. The last one is called The Tale of the Three Brothers. The story goes that three brothers called Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus Peverell came to a river they couldn’t cross. Being magical people, they waved their wands and made a bridge appear. This upset Death who often claimed the lives of people who had drowned in the river so he blocked their path in the middle of their bridge and pretended to congratulate them on cheating him. He promised them three gifts of their own choosing for being so clever. The oldest brother, Antioch, said he wanted the most powerful wand in the world, the middle one, Cadmus, the power to bring back the dead - he knew of a girl he loved who had died young - and the youngest and wisest, Ignotus, wanted something which would allow him to leave without being followed because he didn’t trust Death. So, Antioch was given the Elder Wand, Cadmus the Resurrection Stone and Ignotus the Cloak of Invisibility.”<br/>   “What happened next?” asked Sam.<br/>   “Well, the two older brothers came to a bad end. Antioch used the wand to kill a former enemy but he then started boasting about it in a tavern and during the night it was stolen from him and his throat was cut. Cadmus used the Resurrection Stone to try and bring the girl he loved back from the dead but when she appeared, she was merely a shadow and deeply unhappy so he killed himself to be with her. Death claimed them both.”<br/>   “What about the youngest?” This came from Sally who had been following the story closely.<br/>   “He lived a long life. Death looked for him for many, many years but could not find him because of the cloak which made him invisible to all. Eventually, in extreme old age, he took it off and gave it to his son before going with Death willingly and on equal terms.” Hermione closed the little book and put it back in her beaded bag before looking at Sam and Sally.<br/>   “We don’t know how much of the original story is true. On the face of it, it’s a folk tale, a fairy story but like with many of these sorts of stories, there is sometimes some truth in them. There are those who believe the three brothers actually existed. If you go to Godric’s Hollow and look in the churchyard, there’s a very old grave there with the name Peverell on it. Harry and I have…oh, sorry Harry, that was tactless of me, mentioning that graveyard.” Harry, looking hard at the floor, slowly raised an arm in acknowledgement and let it fall.<br/>   “What about the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak?” Sally thought moving quickly on to something else was a good idea right then. “If the wand exists like you say it does, do they exist as well?”<br/>   “Yes, they do,” Hermione pointed to Harry. “At one point he had all three!”<br/>   “What, the stone and the cloak as well as the wand? That would have made you...”<br/>   “Yeah, most powerful wizard in the world, the master of death and immortal!” Harry seemed to have got over whatever it was that Hermione had said, so Sally continued.<br/>   “Where are they now? I know you said the wand is buried with Professor Dumbledore but what about the stone and the cloak.”<br/>   “I lost the stone near the Dark Forest up at Hogwarts but I’ve still got the cloak.” Harry looked at Hermione. “You know what I’ve stupidly gone and done? I’ve left it at Grimmauld Place in a drawer in the bedroom I was using. I hope the goblins haven’t got hold of it!”<br/>   “I doubt it. They were too busy looking for us to go rummaging around in drawers. Even if they saw it, they probably wouldn’t know what it was.”<br/>   “Do we know what happened to them after Cadmus and Ignotus died?” This came from Sam.<br/>   “Not really very much at all,” explained Hermione. “The stone seems to have been passed down through the Peverell line and eventually made into a ring that came to be owned by Riddle’s grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt, who didn’t know it was the Resurrection Stone. He thought it was the Peverell coat of arms. It was stolen by Riddle who made it into a Horcrux and hid it in the Gaunt house in Little Hangleton. Professor Dumbledore found it but before destroying the Horcrux it contained, couldn’t resist using it to see his parents and sister once again. He put the ring on his finger but it was cursed and made his hand useless and nearly killed him. He bequeathed it to Harry in his will, hidden inside a golden snitch which is a sort of small winged ball used in the game of Quidditch. As for the Cloak of Invisibility, we know nothing more other than that it seems to have been passed down the generations like the stone and eventually came into the hands of Harry’s Dad, James Potter, which suggests Harry was also descended from the Peverells.”<br/>   “Of the Deathly Hallows as they are called...” Mr. Ollivander took up the story, “we know most about the Elder Wand. We know, for instance, that it eventually found its way into the hands of a Bulgarian wand maker called Gregorovich who hoped to use it to become famous. He tried to understand its secrets and make a copy or copies. One of the reasons he did this was because he had plenty of competition in the wand-making business, not least from myself! It was eventually stolen from him by a young man called Gellert Grindelwald, sometime in the early 1940s. He attended a school similar to Hogwarts in northern Europe called Durmstrang. At some point he was expelled for dabbling in Dark Magic and came to Great Britain in search of the Deathly Hallows. Like Riddle, he wanted to become the most powerful wizard in the world. He met up with Albus Dumbledore and they became close friends and worked together for what they called The Greater Good. Grindelwald wanted to bring about Wizard supremacy in the world after centuries of Muggle domination. If that meant pain, death and destruction for Muggles, that was the price worth paying for this Greater Good. Initially, Albus went along with this but came to realise it was wrong and in a spectacular duel in 1945, he defeated Grindelwald who was then imprisoned and killed earlier this year by Riddle for lying about ever having the Elder Wand....Sally you look puzzled?”<br/>   “Yes, I am a bit. If this Grindelwald had the Elder Wand, how come Professor Dumbledore was able to beat him?”<br/>   “How very perceptive of you! That is a question that has been asked many times and we still do not have the answer. It’s just possible that ....”<br/>Mr. Ollivander never finished what he was going to say because at that moment all of those in the compartment felt a jolt and the train began to slow down.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 5<br/>Tuesday 2nd June</p>
<p>In which they make a stop</p>
<p>   In another minute the train had come to a halt and Hermione was on her feet. She moved swiftly towards the carriage door and lowered the window by means of the leather strap. Peering cautiously out, she saw that the train had overshot a small station by about twenty yards and had come to a stop close to a curious-looking iron pillar. It was painted same dark green, the same colour as the doors and windows of the station, and stood about the height of the carriage. There was a curved arm at the top, resembling an oversized teapot spout, and what looked like a rubber or leather pipe attached to the end of it. A large iron ball acted as a counterweight to this arm, suggesting it was able to rotate. This was confirmed when Ron and Tom appeared, both of them leaning out of the cab on the station side. As Hermione looked over at them, Ron pointed to the iron pillar and said something to Tom who nodded and climbed out of the cab. He walked over to the pillar and took hold of the pipe, swivelling the arm towards the tender where Ron, having by now also climbed out of the cab, was unscrewing the cap of the water tank. Tom swung the arm far enough over towards Ron to allow him to insert the end of the pipe into the tank. He then returned to the iron pillar and turned a large iron wheel sticking out of the gravel beneath it. Hermione heard the gushing sound of water entering the tank. She closed the window and moved back into the compartment.<br/>   “We’ve stopped to take on water,” she told the others. “If we want to stretch our legs and get some fresh air, we need to go to the back of the carriage to get out because Ron has stopped the train beyond the platform to get at the water supply.”<br/>   They all thought stretching their legs and getting some fresh air was a good idea. Standing up, Peggy, Hermione and Sam left the compartment and Sally was about to do the same when Mr. Ollivander touched her arm.<br/>   “Sally, would you mind?” He held out the wand. “I do not think I can reach Tom’s back pack.”<br/>   “Of course.” Sally put out her hand to take the wand but Mr Ollivander did not immediately to pass it to her.<br/>   “Um…before you replace it, I wonder if you would mind trying a little experiment.”<br/>   “What do you mean, Mr. O?”<br/>   “Well, what I want you to do is point the wand at the backpack and say Accio.”<br/>   “Accio? What’s that mean?”<br/>   “It’s a summoning charm. It means that whatever you point at when you say the word will come to you.”<br/>   “But only if you are a magical sort of person like yourself or Hermione, Ron and Harry. That’s right isn’t it?”<br/>   “That is so but give it a try, Sally. Let us see what happens.”<br/>   “Nothing, I should think, but OK.” Sally held out her hand and Mr. Ollivander passed her the wand.<br/>   “Point it straight at the backpack and say Accio loudly and clearly.”<br/>   “Accio, you say?”<br/>   “Yes. Go on.”<br/>   Nervously, Sally held out the wand in her right hand and pointed it at the backpack on the rack. Keeping the wand steady she said Accio loudly and clearly. Nothing very much seemed to happen but the wand seemed suddenly to feel a little heavier and a few green sparks issued from the end of it. To Sally’s further astonishment, the backpack seemed to move fractionally, something that did not go unnoticed by Mr. Ollivander who smiled gently.<br/>   “Hmm,” he said, more to himself than anyone else.<br/>   “What do you mean by Hmm? Nothing much happened, did it? I mean I’m a Muggle, aren’t I, so you wouldn’t expect anything to happen anyway, would you?”<br/>   “Quite right, young lady. I would not have expected anything to happen at all but something did, that’s the point. The wand reacted - very slightly, I’ll acknowledge that, but react it did! The other thing of significance is that the backpack moved very slightly. Did you see it?”<br/>   “I...I think so. What does this all mean?”<br/>   “I do not know but it does leave me wondering what old Bathilda was up to when...” Mr. Ollivander was interrupted by a tapping at the door window where Sam’s face had appeared. Sally waved and turned to put the wand back in Tom’s back pack on the shelf while Mr. Ollivander, using the leather strap as Hermione had done, lowered the window. Sam was perched precariously on the step outside, holding on to the door handle for balance.<br/>   “We were wondering where you two had got to! You must come and see who we’ve met,” she said excitedly before jumping down onto the track and running towards Tom who was now turning the large wheel under the iron pillar in a clockwise direction. Mr. Ollivander saw her stop to talk with him before running up the ramp and onto the platform.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 6<br/>Tuesday 2nd June</p><p>In which they learn some interesting things<br/>before continuing their journey northwards</p><p>   When Mr. Ollivander and Sally stepped onto the platform, they saw the others gathered round a small middle-aged man dressed in what looked like the uniform of a station master from the 1950s. He wore a pair of black trousers, black jacket, black waistcoat complete with gold fob watch and chain, and a crisp white shirt topped off by a black tie. On his head was a peaked black cap with the words Station Master embroidered on the band. He was talking animatedly to the small group gathered round him but looked up as Mr. Ollivander and Sally approached. Peggy made the introductions.<br/>   “Garrick, Sally, this is Albert Grungewick who is in charge of this station. Albert, this is Garrick Ollivander, the wand maker, and Sally Allbright.<br/>   “So very pleased to meet you both!” Albert Grungewick shook their hands enthusiastically. “My wand came from your shop in Diagon Alley, Mr. Ollivander, and I have of course been following recent events involving three of your illustrious company. I must say, I had hoped that following the death of...Lord Vol... he who must...er...”<br/>   “You can say his name now, Mr. Grungewick,” put in Harry. “He’s dead. He’s just plain Riddle now.”<br/>   “Of course, of course, force of habit, I suppose; and while we’re on about names, just plain Albert will do for me. Yes, we at the Ministry had hoped that once...er...Riddle was dead, that would be an end to it and with Mr. Shacklebolt at the helm, better and happier times were just round the corner but then...” Albert stopped speaking and a look of fear crossed his face. He cast a nervous glance up and down the line before turning back to others.<br/>   “Best come in. It’s very remiss of me to keep you all standing about on the platform. Come on in and I’ll put the kettle on.”<br/>   With a final glance up and down the line, Albert ushered his guests into a small waiting room. The walls and ceiling were cream-coloured, the door and skirting boards the same green as the doors and windows outside on the platform. A large clock with Roman numerals stood over an iron fireplace of the sort and size found in the bedrooms of Victorian houses. An old-fashioned gas ring stood on the hearth, a large copper kettle standing upon it. It reminded Tom of a station on the Bluebell Line in Sussex his family had visited when he was much younger. That, too, was straight out of the 1950s.<br/>   “Do sit down, do sit down. I’ll just go and fetch the teapot and some cups and saucers.” Albert disappeared out of the door and re-appeared a couple of minutes later with a large wooden tray. He put it down on the table before going over to the fireplace and, picking up a wand lying on the mantle shelf, used it to light the gas ring. Returning to the table, he sat down and looked round at everyone.<br/>   “You caused us a bit of worry, I can tell you! I had this ’phone call from Agnes who told me a train was on the way up and she had no idea what it was or where it had come from! She knew it wasn’t the Hogwarts Express because that’s up at Hogsmeade at the moment and….”<br/>   “…wait a moment, Albert,” interrupted Mr. Ollivander. “I am a little confused. You mentioned a moment ago you work for the Ministry of Magic and yet here you are seemingly a station master somewhere up north; and who is this Agnes?”<br/>   “Ah, yes I can see it must all be a bit confusing. I do actually work for a small Ministry department which sees to the safe running of the Hogwarts Express. Actually, it might be more accurate to say I did work for the ministry because something is going on down there. There is no sign of Mr. Shacklebolt at all, according to Agnes, and nobody seems to know where he is. A few days ago, the Hogwarts Express stopped here - it nearly always does in order to take on water as you have just done - and a bunch of aggressive goblins got out and told me I was to continue with my duties but surrender my wand. I told them that if I did that, I would not be able to continue with my duties because it is often necessary to use it to ensure safety and security. Grudgingly, I felt, they let me keep it.”<br/>   “I’ve never heard of your department at the Ministry.” This came from Hermione.<br/>   “That doesn’t really surprise me. As I said, it is very small but, I like to think, important. We see to the smooth and safe running of the Hogwarts Express on its journey to and from King’s Cross and Hogsmeade. As it uses a considerable amount of Muggle railway line, this is quite an undertaking, I can tell you!” Albert turned to Mr. Ollivander. “You were asking about Agnes, That’s Agnes Dimple and she runs Zone 1, which includes King’s Cross Station and extends five miles up the track. As you can imagine, that is the area involving the most complex work as it is the busiest part of the line and the one fraught with potentially the most danger. Agnes and her team make sure the line is clear and that no Muggles see or hear anything they shouldn’t. Occasionally, it is necessary to engineer situations where their trains don’t run or are delayed - leaves on the line, wrong sort of snow, points and signalling failure, those sorts of things - in order that the Hogwarts Express isn’t compromised. Agnes is kept very busy, I can tell you! Up here, I am involved in the same sort of work but as this station is on a disused line where Muggles occasionally run the old steam trains of which they seem very fond, my job is less complex and arduous...until an unscheduled and unknown locomotive appears! I wonder if you mind explaining what is going on.”<br/>   Between them, they told Albert all that had happened in the past few weeks and why they found themselves on the train currently standing alongside his platform. He listened intently, showing some surprise upon learning that three of their company were Muggles. When they had finished, there was a silence during which he got up from the table and, taking up the teapot, spooned some tea into it before going over to the kettle which was by now boiling merrily on the gas ring. He filled the teapot with water and returned to the table.<br/>   “So, what do you hope to find when you get to Hogwarts?” he asked, stirring the tea in the teapot with a silver tea spoon.”<br/>   “We don’t really know,” replied Hermione, “but maybe some answers to what is going on. We know that Riddle is dead and we know that there are armed goblins on the loose and looking for us. They seem to have made the most of the difficulties following Riddle’s defeat. They broke into Mr. Ollivander’s shop in Diagon Alley and stole all his wands and that makes them very dangerous. But are they acting alone, that’s the big question. I personally think there is someone behind their actions, some shadowy figure guiding them to serve his or her own ends. Who this is we don’t know but I think it involves an underground cavern up at Chanctonbury Ring, an ancient hill fort down near the town of Steyning.<br/>   “Steyning? Is that the village in the Muggle county of Sussex that used to be an ancient wizarding community famous for its Quidditch team?” As he was speaking, Albert was passing round cups of tea and indicating the milk and sugar he had placed on the table.<br/>   “Do you know,” said Tom excitedly, “you are the only person I’ve ever met who’s actually heard of Steyning!”<br/>   “I think you’ll find most wizarding folk will have done so, Tom. Like Hogsmeade, Godric’s Hollow and Lode, it’s one of the earliest wizarding communities.”<br/>   “Lode?” This came from Sam. “Did you say Lode? Is that the Lode near Cambridge?”<br/>   “I’m not sure. I have never visited but it is described as being in a fen, if that’s any help.”<br/>   “It’s certainly is!” Tom looked over at Sam. “That sounds like our Lode alright. When we were up at my parents’ place in Cambridge, it was mentioned in the local paper, wasn’t it?”<br/>   “Yeah, it was. There was that report about a man who saw a tall shadowy figure in the village. There’d been other sightings, hadn’t there, one of them being up at that other hill fort. What was it called?”<br/>   “Wandlebury Ring, Cambridge’s answer to Chanctonbury Ring. Hermione, you look confused.”<br/>   “Yeah, I am, Tom. You’ve just mentioned of Lode and Wandlebury Ring. I’ve heard of them mentioned before but I can’t remember when or where this was. We really do need to get up to Hogwarts and use the library to find some answers.”<br/>   “Yeah, Hermy’s right, we really ought to get going soon.” Ron, who had remained silent for most of the time and who had kept glancing anxiously out of the window, drained his tea cup and stood up. “I should go and check on the train to make sure we don’t lose too much steam pressure.” He turned to Albert “What about the rest of the journey? We don’t want to cause any further worries about strange trains appearing on the line.”<br/>   “That’s a very good point, a very good point indeed, Ron. Tell you what, I’ll do four things. First of all, I’ll telephone - no time to send an owl - Archie Flosby and Phoebe Crickle who manage the next two zones up the line and tell them what’s going on. They can then secure the track for you. Then I’ll ask them to relay the news on up to the other line managers - that’s a Muggle business term, I believe, but for us it is literally true! Thirdly, I’ll contact Bernard Macdawdle - don’t worry, he’s anything but - and apprise him of the situation. You don’t want to land up at Hogsmeade and encounter a bunch of goblins, do you! There are sidings and an old engine shed up off the main line before you get to the station where I presume the Hogwarts Express and possibly a bunch of goblins could be. Maybe he’ll direct you there for your own safety. Watch out for red and green lights on the line and even if there seems no good reason to stop or start, do exactly what the lights tell you. That’s always important on any railway line but more so, in your case, as you approach Hogsmeade. Is that absolutely clear?”<br/>   Everyone nodded and assured Albert they understood.<br/>   “And when I’ve done all that,” Albert continued, “I’ll ring Agnes and let her know what’s going on and set the poor lady’s mind at rest.”<br/>   “Oh dear, Albert, I’m so sorry we are putting you to all this trouble.” This came from Peggy.<br/>   “Not at all, not at all! It’s all rather exciting; and if you are able to uncover what is actually going on, I’m sure we at the Ministry - if there still is a Ministry! - will all be very grateful.”<br/>Albert paused and looked over at Hermione. “And you, young lady, I can tell there’s something’s on your mind! That mention of Lode got you thinking, I believe.”<br/>   “You’re right, there’s something, something I’m missing but...well...thanks for the tea.”<br/>   “Come on you lot! We need to get going and I’ve left Pigwidgeon asleep in the cab and don’t want him waking up and flying off!” This came from an impatient-sounding Ron who disappeared out of the waiting room door and onto the platform. He walked quickly towards the old steam train still stood where they had left it, smoke drifting out of its tall chimney.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 7<br/>Tuesday 2nd June</p><p>In which they arrive at a destination</p><p>   “Red light ahead, Ron.” As he spoke, Harry was leaning out of the left-hand doorway of the cab. When they had left Albert Grungewick, he had offered to replace Tom as fireman.<br/>   “OK mate, I’ve seen it.”<br/>   Ron slowed the train and brought it to a standstill some twenty yards from the red light which glowed brightly in the gathering darkness. This was the first time they had needed to stop since leaving Albert. They had made good progress because Ron felt able to pick up speed now that he knew the line was safe and there was, hopefully, no chance of hitting another train. They passed towns and villages and other landmarks that he and Harry thought they recognised from their journeys up to Hogwarts in the Hogwarts Express and their ill-fated attempt to reach the school in a flying Ford Anglia. Harry, particularly, was reminded of this when they had crossed a viaduct and entered a long tunnel. This, he remembered, was towards the end of their long journey from King’s Cross and the rugged and mountainous countryside they now found themselves in was another indication that they were a long way north.<br/>   The light before them remained red for some time and then quite suddenly turned green. Ron moved the train cautiously forward. There was nothing to indicate why they had needed to stop but both were reminded of Albert’s insistence that they should always do so even if there was no apparent reason. They had been on a single track for some time now, a further indication that they were nearing their destination as Hogsmeade, they both knew, was miles from the nearest Muggle habitation.<br/>   They moved cautiously forward for half an hour before another red light brought them to a halt once again. Ron peered out of the right-hand cab doorway.<br/>   “I think I can see some movement on the track in front of us.”<br/>   “Could be a fox or something.”<br/>   “Bit big for a fox. Looks more like a person.”<br/>   “If it’s a goblin we should...”<br/>   “Nah, it’s not one of them. It’s definitely a proper person and there’s only one of whoever he is. Wait, I think he’s leaving the track now. I don’t think he’s seen us.”<br/>   “Might be one of the line managers Albert mentioned. In which case he will have seen us and is making sure the line is safe.”<br/>Harry’s suggestion made the most sense because shortly after the figure had vanished, the red light turned green. Ron moved the train slowly forward and both he and Harry were taken by surprise when they turned off onto another track which took them to their right and towards what looked like a pine forest. Continuing to move slowly, they entered the trees and found the banks rising steeply on either side of the track before it all went very dark as they entered a tunnel. Coming out the other end, the track curved gently to the left before straightening out and running, as far as Ron and Harry could make out, parallel to the original track.<br/>   After another mile, a red light brought them once again to a standstill. Ron peered out of the cab but by now it was very dark and he could see nothing. He turned to Harry.<br/>   “You stay here. I’m going to find Tom.”<br/>   “How can he help?”<br/>   “Got a torch.”<br/>   Ron climbed down out of the cab and felt his way carefully towards the carriage. Clambering up onto the step outside the compartment where the others were seated, he rapped on the window and a nervous looking Hermione peered out. When she saw it was Ron, she visibly relaxed and lowered the window.<br/>   “Have we arrived?”<br/>   “I think so but we’ve stopped at a red light and it’s so dark out there I can’t see where we are at all. I need Tom and his torch and you can come along as well with the wand. That’ll give us more light and some protection in case there are goblins around.”<br/>   “Don’t say that, Ron!”<br/>   “No sign of ’me, Hermy, but you can’t be too careful.”<br/>   A few minutes later, Hermione and Tom joined Ron and Harry by the train. The red light still glowed brightly before them. They moved carefully forward and Tom shone his torch down the track beyond it. It continued straight on before disappearing into the darkness. He turned to Ron.<br/>   “Look, you stay here, Ron, in case the light turns green and you can move forward. We’ll walk down the track and see what’s ahead. If you do follow on behind, go very slowly. We don’t want you running us over!”<br/>   “Yeah, OK. Sounds like a good plan. Keep waving the torch about so I can see where you are.”<br/>   Hermione, Harry and Tom set off down the track. After another minute they came upon a set of points where the track split. Ahead of them and to their right loomed a dark shape. Hermione gripped the wand more tightly and Tom shone his torch towards it, making out a building of some sort. Approaching slowly and following this other track, they saw that it was an engine shed similar to the one at King’s Cross. Hermione relaxed her grip on the wand and Tom went ahead and shone his torch at the pair of large wooden doors before beckoning to the others to approach.<br/>   “It’s an engine shed alright and I think Albert and his line mangers have guided us here deliberately. If we can get the doors open, we can hide the train and carriage in it; and we may need to go back and change the points.”<br/>The doors proved difficult to open, not because they were locked but because the hinges were stiff and weeds had grown up along the bottom. Tom managed to turn the handle on the left-hand door and open up a small gap which allowed the three of them to get some purchase and between them pull it wide open. The right hand one was easier as they could put some weight behind it and push as well as pull. Tom shone his torch inside and they could all see that unlike the engine shed at King’s Cross which had two sets of rails, this had only one but it was much longer so there was room for the train and probably several carriages inside the building. Tom and Harry left Hermione to check it out while they went back up the track to look at the points.<br/>   “We need to change them, Harry, look.” Tom pointed to the rails where it was clear that the points were set for trains to continue down the track, passing to the left of the engine shed. Well-practised through their experience at King’s Cross, the two boys pulled on the lever and were rewarded by the sound of the rails moving across. This was followed almost immediately by the noise of the train approaching.<br/>   “I think changing the points did it!” Tom was waving his torch at the approaching train to show Ron where they were. “It looks like the red light went green the moment we did it!”<br/>   “Yeah, I think you’re right. Stand clear.” Harry and Tom both moved back from the track as Ron brought the train to a halt where they were standing. They moved forward and clambered up into the cab where they explained to Ron about the points and the engine shed ahead of them. Reassured, Ron moved the train slowly forward, Tom shining his torch to allow him to see something of what was ahead. He stopped in front of the engine shed doors and Tom jumped down and ran inside He appeared a minute later and climbed back into the cab.<br/>   “You can move the train in, Ron. Hermione says the track is OK. She’s standing by the buffers at the end and will wave her wand so you can see how far to go. I’ll go ahead with the torch to help you.”<br/>Tom jumped down and Ron moved the train forward once again, Tom moving ahead and shining his torch onto the rails. Some distance ahead, the darkness was punctuated by Hermione waving the wand frantically as the train approached her like some gigantic beast, reminding her suddenly of the occasion when she had been trapped in a bathroom at Hogwarts by a troll and had been rescued by Ron and Harry. She shook her head to clear the unwelcome vision as the train came to a halt several yards in front of the buffers. Ron’s head appeared out of the cab door as Hermione approached and shone her wand up at him. He was grinning broadly.<br/>   “Well Hermy old girl, it looks as if we have arrived at our destination!”<br/>   “Less of the ‘old girl’ please Ron and yes, let’s hope we are somewhere near Hogsmeade and there aren’t any goblins around!”</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 8<br/>Tuesday 2nd June</p><p>In which they reach Hogsmeade</p><p>   “Wow, just look at that!” They were all standing on the edge of the pine forest through which they had walked from the engine shed and Tom’s exclamation summed up all their reactions to the view that was spread out before them.<br/>   After Ron had driven the train into the engine shed and damped down the fire in the boiler by closing the firebox door - he didn’t know if this was the correct procedure but it seemed the sensible and safest thing to do - they had all climbed back into the carriage to finish the last of the food and drink they had brought with them. They had then set off in the direction Ron and Harry thought they ought to go and had been rewarded by finding a track through the dense pine trees which both boys had felt they should follow to take them in the direction of Hogsmeade Village.<br/>   Now, ten minutes later, they were standing at the edge of the forest looking out over a moonlit scene worthy of those found on picture postcards or in art galleries; and the view was enhanced because they were looking down from the hillside. Tom was having trouble working out how this could be - the track had been running along on the level - until Ron reminded them they had passed through a cutting and a tunnel when they left the main line and that the path they had been following had climbed up through the pine trees.<br/>   The full moon allowed them to see more than they otherwise might have done. A couple of hundred yards below, they could make out Hogsmeade Station and beyond it and to the right a large lake. Behind the lake and standing black against the skyline stood the outlines of a ruined castle, or so it seemed to Sam and Tom.<br/>   “Is that Hogwarts School over there beyond the lake?” asked Sally.<br/>   “Yeah, it is,” explained Hermione, “but I’m afraid you’re only seeing a ruin. It’s one of the ways to protect it from unwelcome Muggle visitors.”<br/>   “Doesn’t look like a ruin to me. I can see turrets and things.”<br/>   “Don’t be silly, Sally, it’s just a ruin. You can just make out what look like bits of broken wall in top of a grassy hill.”<br/>   “No, Tom, you’re wrong. I can definitely see turrets. Sam, what can you see?”<br/>   “Large grassy mound with bits of broken wall on the top. It’s that Butterbeer you had, Sally! It’s gone to your head and you’re seeing things!”<br/>   “No, I’m not!” Sally sounded quite upset and was about to say something else when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Mr. Ollivander standing next to her.<br/>   “Don’t get upset, my dear. It’s quite possible you can see Hogwarts as Hermione, Harry, Ron and I see it, and probably Peggy, too. I am not sure at this stage why this is so, but let us leave it for the moment and decide what we need to do next. I suggest we make for Hogsmeade Village.” Mr. Ollivander pointed just to the left of the far side of the lake where a few twinkling lights and the dark outlines of houses indicated habitation. “To make straight for Hogwarts might be dangerous as we do not know whether there are goblins around. It might also be impossible for Sam and Tom and...er...Sally to enter. I suggest we head for the Hog’s Head Inn and seek out Aberforth Dumbledore. We have met on several occasions and although he can be rather abrupt at times and has this rather strange affinity for goats, he is actually quite a thoughtful and helpful man underneath his gruff exterior.”<br/>   “Good idea, Mr. O. We owe him a lot. He saved us from Death Eaters last month when we apparated into Hogsmeade, didn’t he?” Harry was looking at Ron as he spoke.<br/>   “Yeah, you’re right and he got us into Hogwarts through that tunnel behind the portrait of Arianna. Maybe we can use it again.”<br/>   “Yeah, good thinking.”<br/>   “What you two seem to have forgotten,” put in Hermione, “is that Neville Longbottom’s grand- mother blocked it up after she was the last one through; but I agree with Mr. O. about heading for the Hog’s Head Inn and we do need to keep a sharp lookout for goblins.”<br/>   No one disagreed with this but before they all set off down the hillside, Tom made further suggestion which all thought a very good idea. While they stayed hidden on the edges of the pine forest, he set off down the track towards the station saying he would flash his torch three times if it was safe for them to join him. If they saw nothing they should retreat into the forest and he would meet them back at the engine shed.<br/>   Some five minutes later they were all relieved to see Tom’s torch flash three times so they set off in single file along the track which zigzagged down the side of the hill, making the going easier. Ron stuck close to Peggy and Mr. Ollivander, offering an arm where the path was less smooth. Peggy thanked him and said she didn’t want to fall over and knock out a tooth. Ron told her she was in good hands and that her last remaining tooth was as precious to him as it was to her. Hermione, going on ahead of them, turned when she heard the sound of laughter coming from all three and told them not to make so much noise as it might tell the goblins where they were.<br/>   It wasn’t long before the seven of them joined Tom on the platform of Hogsmeade Station which closely resembled the one where they had taken on water and met Albert Grungewick. The Hogwarts Express - instantly recognisable to Hermione, Harry and Ron - and six carriages stood silently alongside the platform. Ahead of it the rails stretched away in the distance, two silver streaks in the moonlight, curving gently to the right and heading, Ron thought, in the direction of the engine shed where, if it continued on the track they had used, it would rejoin the main line heading south.<br/>   Nervous about staying for too long, they quickly found the station exit and picked up a track that skirted the lake to their right. Hermione, Harry and Ron led the way as they were on home ground and knew where they were going. Hermione carried Peggy’s wand and Harry had Sally’s. Neither used them to light the way as it would have drawn attention to their small party. In any case, they were not needed as the moon continued to shine brightly, allowing them to see the path in front of them.<br/>   They had only been going for a few minutes when rwo things happened in quick succession. Sam and Tom suddenly started talking about what was happening back at their respective homes and whether they were missing any lessons at Steyning Grammar School. They were on the point of suggesting they should turn back when Hermione reminded them that this was a perfectly normal reaction when close to Hogwarts and was one of the protective enchantments. When Mr. Ollivander asked Sally if she had had similar thoughts, she told him that she hadn’t. He nodded, smiled gently and said no more on the subject.<br/>   The second thing to happen concerned Pigwidgeon who up to now had been sitting quietly on Ron’s shoulder. He suddenly became animated, flapped his winds and flew off in the direction of Hogwarts castle.<br/>   “Oi, where do you think you’re going,” Ron shouted.<br/>   “He knows where he is,” explained Harry. “He’s gone off to see some of his mates, if there are any around.”<br/>   “He might give us away!”<br/>   “Most unlikely, Ron. Come on, let’s get going.” Hermione set off at a brisk pace down the path.<br/>   A few minutes later saw a further interruption when Ron and Harry, a little way behind Hermione, stopped and pointed to a fenced-off field down towards the lake.<br/>   “Everything OK?” asked Tom as he and the others caught up with them.<br/>   “Yeah, fine,” replied Ron with a quick glance at Harry. “Just...you know...looking.”<br/>   They set off again but as they did so, Mr Ollivander moved up to speak with Sally.<br/>   “Did you notice that field we have just passed?”<br/>   “You mean the one with what looked like a stable down by the lake? The one Harry and Ron were looking at?”<br/>   That one, yes. Did you see anything there?”<br/>   “No. The field looked empty to me. Do they keep horses in it? Maybe they are in the stable.”<br/>   “They might have been, that is true, but they would not have been horses, Sally. They would be threstrals and they pull the coaches that take the students from the station to Hogwarts. They don’t take the First Years. They go by the boats you may have noticed behind the station but...” Mr. Ollivander tailed off and seemed unwilling to continue the conversation but at Sally’s prompting continued speaking.<br/>   “The reason I asked if you had seen anything is because only those who have seen death can see them. Harry, Ron and Hermione have had that experience. I do not know about Peggy. Harry only saw them quite some time after having witnessed, as a baby, the murder of his mother. He would not have understood about death then and so would not have seen the threstrals. That would have happened many years later.”<br/>   “Poor, poor Harry, what a dreadful thing to have happened! But what about Sam and Tom? Would they be able to see them?”<br/>   “Again, I do not know. It is probably the case that they have not seen death - I sincerely hope they have not - but it may be that Muggles cannot see them anyway.”<br/>   “What do they look like? Do they look like horses?<br/>   “In a way, yes, but they are more skeletal and have small wings. They are black.”<br/>   “They sound a bit scary to me! Have you seen them? Did you see them just now?”<br/>   “The answer to your first question is yes, and I believe there are very few of us involved in events over the past few years in our world who would not have seen them. As I mentioned just now, it is not merely a question of seeing death, you have to have an understanding of what it means and this may not come to you until many years after your initial experience. To answer your second question, no, I did not see them just now. I suspect you are right and they are in the stable.”<br/>   “Why are you asking me if I’ve seen them? Wait! I know! It’s because of what happened with the wand, because I could see Hogwarts as a castle and not a ruin and because I didn’t start talking about going home like Sam and Tom!”<br/>   “That is again very perceptive of you Sally and yes, they are the reasons is why I asked the question. But let us talk more of this later. Come on, we are in danger of being left behind.”<br/>   Mr. Ollivander stopped talking and he and Sally quickened their pace to catch up with the others. In another minute, the track they had been following joined a cobbled street on both sides of which stood timber-framed cottages, most in darkness but one or two with light shining through drawn curtains. They had reached Hogsmeade Village.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 9<br/>Tuesday 2nd June</p>
<p>In which they meet with Aberforth Dumbledore</p>
<p>   They walked up the narrow, cobbled street and the timber-framed cottages crowded in on them to such an extent that the bright moonlight that lit their path was all but extinguished and they had difficulty seeing where they were going. Harry led the way and after a minute or two turned off the cobbled street and down a narrow alleyway barely wide enough to walk two abreast. It was so dark here they had to grope their way forward by feeling along the walls on both sides. They soon came out onto another cobbled street where the houses were interspersed with a few shops. All was shrouded in darkness save for light that spilled from the un-curtained windows of a larger building. The inn sign hanging over their heads as they hurried past said The Three Broomsticks.<br/>   Harry led them on up the street and after another minute or two stopped under another sign that hung above their heads. In a shaft of moonlight that shone between two of the buildings on the other side of the street, they could make out the words The Hog’s Head. After a moment’s hesitation and a nervous glance at Hermione and Ron, Harry approached the front door and knocked. The sound seemed unnaturally loud in the stillness that surrounded them and more nervous glances were exchanged. There was no response and the room behind the door, visible through one sash windows either side of it, remained in darkness. Harry knocked again and after what seemed an age, they saw a wavering light approaching the door. There was the sound of a bolt being drawn back and a key turning in the lock. The door opened a fraction and a gruff voice called out to them.<br/>   “What time of day or night do yer call this! We’re closed so if you’re thirsty you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I need me beauty sleep! Good night to you!”<br/>   “Aberforth, is that you?” Mr. Ollivander spoke as the door was on the point of closing and the sound of his voice had the effect of stopping and then reversing this process. A head appeared together with an arm holding a candle whose flame dimly lit up the faces of the small group standing outside. For a moment nobody said anything further, then Harry stepped forward.<br/>   “Mr. Dumbledore, it’s me Harry Potter. can we come in?”<br/>   For answer, the landlord of The Hogs Head Inn, with a quick glance up and down the street, opened the door to its fullest extent, turned and walked back inside. After a momentary pause, Harry and the others followed him - Sam, the last in, closed the door behind her - and found themselves in the bar. Heavy wooden tables, benches and chairs were scattered haphazardly about the room and the floor was liberally scattered with what looked like straw. The bar itself was covered with unwashed glasses and plates.<br/>   They all had only a moment to take in this scene because the light from the candle that had briefly illuminated the room disappeared as the landlord clomped up some stairs at the far end. Groping their way forward, they found the bottom step and made their way up and into what seemed to be a sitting room. Battered leather armchairs were grouped around a small fireplace very similar to the one they had seen at Albert Grungewick’s railway station. Despite it being June, a coal fire burned brightly in the grate.<br/>   “Sit yourselves down and I’ll see about some food. You all look like you could do with something to eat.” As he spoke, the landlord picked up a box of matches from the mantle shelf and was about to strike one, muttering darkly something about inferior Muggle technology, when Hermione stepped forward him with Peggy’s wand in her hand.<br/>   “Let me do that,” she said.<br/>   “How come you have a wand, girl? Mine was taken by those blasted goblins!”<br/>   “They’ve been after us but we’ve managed to avoid them so far. We’ve only got two.” This came from Harry who answered for Hermione as was she was busy using her wand to light various oil lamps dotted around the room. The additional illumination allowed them all to see more of the landlord. He was dressed in a shabby pair of brown trousers held up with string in place of a belt. A stained striped shirt was partly tucked into them, some of it hanging out at the back. Thick wiry grey hair covered his head and made up a beard obscuring much of his face. Behind dirty wire-rimmed spectacles piercing bright blue eyes were strikingly at odds with the rest of his appearance. Still holding the candle holder, he looked round at the group from under bushy eyebrows before stomping off down the stairs and returning a few minutes later with a tray of food and drink. He set it down on a small table in front of the fire and indicated with a sweep of his arm that they should all sit down and eat. Mr. Ollivander and Peggy took the two battered leather chairs to the left of the fireplace - the one to the right was so obviously the one the landlord used that nobody took it - and both sank into them with a sigh. The others found various rickety wooden chairs at the back of the room and pulled them up closer to the fire.<br/>   The food and drink proved very welcome even if it only consisted of bread and cheese, washed down with liberal quantities of butterbeer. Hermione, Ron and Harry looked at each other as they tucked in. The three of them remembered this was the self-same food they had been given on their last visit to the Hog’s Head.<br/>   When the last morsels of bread and cheeses had been consumed and all were on the point of falling asleep in their chairs from sheer tiredness and the effects of the food and drink, Aberforth Dumbledore leaned forward from the armchair into which he had lowered himself and addressed the gathering before him.<br/>   “Well then, Garrick,” he said gruffly. “Let’s start by you introducing me to the all the members of your little party I have not met before, and then perhaps you might explain what brings you all to Hogsmead at this difficult and dangerous time?”<br/>   “Of course, Aberforth, of course. This is Peggy Deys from Steyning which is a small...”<br/>   “...market town in Muggle West Sussex. I’m not daft you know! Of course I know Steyning! One of the early wizarding communities, wasn’t it, famous for its Quidditch team. Good to meet yer, Peggy.” Aberforth heaved himself out of his armchair and shook Peggy solemnly by the hand.<br/>   “Then there’s Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter but of course you have met them before.”<br/>   “I have indeed!” Aberforth waved a hand at Sam, Sally and Tom. “Hogwarts students too?”<br/>   “No, they go to Steyning Grammar School, or did until the recent troubles interrupted their schooling. Meet Sam Bolton, Tom Bradley and Sally Allbright.” The landlord of shook their hands solemnly before returning to his armchair, sinking into it with a sigh and taking a swig of butterbeer from a none-too-clean goblet on a small table next to him.<br/>   “Sally,” continued Mr. Ollivander, “was acquainted with a friend of yours from Godric’s Hollow.”<br/>   “Don’t know anyone from Godric’s Hollow no more!”<br/>   “I did say was, Aberforth, not is. She knew Bathilda Bagshot. In fact, Bathilda was very close to her family. That is so, Sally, is it not?”<br/>   “Yes, she was. She used to visit us in Letchworth where we live and when I was very young, she gave me a plant which we have recently discovered was held up by a wand.”<br/>   “Did she just!” While Sally was talking, a change had come over Aberforth. The goblet was placed back on the small table by his armchair and he suddenly seemed more alert. He was leaning forward and taking in everything Sally was saying.<br/>   “I don’t know whether you know it,” Sally continued, “but Bathilda has died.”<br/>   “Of course I know it, girl! She was...” Aberforth suddenly stopped speaking and reached into a trouser pocket and produced a grubby handkerchief. He blew his nose noisily into it before leaning back in his armchair and closing his eyes. A brief silence descended on the room before his eyes snapped open and his gaze fell squarely upon Sally.<br/>   “Sally Allbright? Allbright is it now? Not Prewett?”<br/>   Sally gasped, not only because of what had been said but also because of the unnervingly intense gaze from those startling blue eyes.<br/>   “How did you...?” she began.<br/>   “Bathilda and I were very close friends. We knew each other for many, many years.” As he spoke, Aberforth’s gaze had shifted from Sally and alighted on the wall to the right of the fireplace. Tom, seated further back from the others, noticed this and looked up at the wall. He gasped, leant forward, reached over to Sam’s chair and prodded her shoulder. When he had her attention, he nodded in the direction of the wall. Sam followed his gaze and looked puzzled for a moment before something clicked and she let out a small gasp and looked back at Tom who nodded. What they had both seen, and what Aberforth was looking at somewhat wistfully, was the same poster they had all noticed in Bathilda Bagshot’s cottage down in Godric’s Hollow, the one with a decorative black border and the words <em>Omens, Oracles and the Goat</em> by Bathilda Bagshot over a picture of what looked like a crouching deer. They looked over at Sally but were unable to attract her attention as it was fixed on Aberforth; and if she was hoping for an explanation about how the landlord of the Hog’s Head seemed to know so much about her, she was to be disappointed because Aberforth suddenly stood up muttering it was late and time to see about finding beds for his guests. Mr. Ollivander said he didn’t want to put him to any trouble and there was The Three Broomsticks just up the street. Aberforth made a dismissive movement with his hand which clearly signalled the end of the conversation.<br/>   Ron, Harry and Tom were shown some narrow stairs and told there were beds for them up there. Sam, Sally and Hermione were shown a door on the opposite side of the room and given the same sparse information. Peggy and Mr. Ollivander were asked to follow Aberforth down the stairs of the bar where he promised them something more comfortable. Some minutes later, he returned to the sitting where he damped down the fire and placed a fireguard in front of the grate. Before leaving the room, he stood and looked up at Bathilda Bagshot’s poster for some minutes before sighing deeply, extinguishing the flames in the oil lamps and heading back down the stairs.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 10<br/>Wednesday 3rd June</p><p>In which Sally talks with Aberforth Dumbledore</p><p>   Sally was the first awake the next morning. She had slept soundly despite the uncomfortable bed and unfamiliar surroundings. Sam and Hermione were asleep as soon as their heads touched the pillow but it took her a while to follow them. The comments made by Aberforth and his knowledge about her were going around her head as she lay in the narrow bed. Her thoughts eventually coalesced around the central point that he was a close friend of Bathilda Bagshot and therefore it was more than likely that she talked to him about those she knew and perhaps especially about those she helped place with other families. This rationalising of her situation allowed her to relax and eventually fall into a dreamless sleep<br/>   Sally climbed out of the bed and washed using a jug of cold water and a bar of soap that stood next to a chipped enamel wash basin on a wooden stand by the window. She used one of the three towels that hung on hooks behind the door - of flannels, toothbrushes and toothpaste there was no sign.<br/>   She left the room quietly so as not to disturb Hermione and Sam who were still sound asleep and headed for the stairs that led down to the bar. All was quiet with no sign of the landlord but a draught seemed to be coming from the kitchen. She walked in and saw that the back door was open - this explained the draught - and Aberforth could be seen feeding several goats in what could euphemistically be called a garden, putting down bowls of water on the rough patch of grass and holding out some carrots. While he was doing this, he appeared to be talking to the goats and as Sally watched from the kitchen doorway, she noticed that his gruff manner was totally absent and he seemed genuinely fond of the animals and they of him. However, he quickly sensed someone was close by and turned to look at Sally and wave a hand in her direction.<br/>   “Don’t just stand there, girl! Go and put the kettle on!” The gruff manner had retuned but Sally didn’t mind. She had seen another side to him and that was something he could not take back. She turned round and surveyed the kitchen. Unwashed cutlery, bowls, glasses and cups were piled up on the draining board next to a large earthenware sink with a single brass tap. Sally turned it on and, as she expected, the water ran cold. Turning her head, she saw behind her a blackened kitchen range with a copper kettle standing on one of the two hotplates. She put her hand tentatively on it and found it was warm, suggesting the fire was not entirely out. She opened the fire door and pushed in two logs from a pile on the floor to the right of the range. Opening its lower door wide enough to create a draught, she soon had the fire going sufficiently to start heating the kettle. Making sure both doors were closed, she turned to search for tea and mugs and was rewarded by finding both in a wall cupboard to the right of the sink, along with a bowl of sugar. She took them to the stained wooden table that stood in the middle of the kitchen and was looking for milk when she heard Aberforth’s voice calling from the garden.<br/>   “If yer lookin’ fer milk, girl, try the front door and I hope the perishing birds haven’t been at them after the cream!”<br/>   Sally walked through the bar, drew the bolt, unlocked the front door and opened it. A couple of blue tits flew off but not before, she noticed, they had pierced the silver top of one of two milk bottles. Picking them up and returning to the kitchen, she found Aberforth sitting at the table, spooning tea into a large brown teapot.<br/>   “Perishing birds! See if the kettle’s boiling.”<br/>   “Another five minutes I should think. Er…Mr. Dumbledore, can I ask you something?”<br/>   “You can ask but I won’t necessarily answer and I won’t talk about that troublemaker of a brother of mine if that’s what you were going to say!”<br/>   “No, nothing like that. I wanted to ask you about Bathilda Bagshot and how well you knew her.”<br/>   “She was a neighbour of ours down in Godric’s Hollow so I’ve known her all my life. I, my brother and my sister used to go and play in her garden when we were very young before....” Aberforth stopped speaking and became suddenly busy with stirring the tea in the teapot and then pouring it into the two chipped brown mugs. Some of the tea landed up on the table. He pushed one of mugs towards Sally and indicated with a wave of his hand she should help herself to milk from one of the bottles.<br/>   “That’s your sister in the portrait upstairs, isn’t it” Sally knew she was taking a bit of a risk with this question but took the chance because he had mentioned her. Abereforth appeared not to have heard her. He busied himself adding milk to his tea and spooning in a considerable amount of sugar. He took a sip and then looked up sharply at Sally.<br/>   “That’s Ariana, yes. That’s my sister and she’d be alive today if...” Aberforth took another sip from his mug before putting it down on the table with such force that some of the tea spilt. Sally wondered if she should say something like ‘would it help to talk about it?’ but decided this sort of comment from a teenager to an old man would be highly inappropriate. In any case, she didn’t need to say anything because Aberforth continued speaking, leaning forward as he did so. One of his elbows was resting in the spilt tea.<br/>   “She would be alive today had not my brother not taken the path he did...he and that Grindelwald!”<br/>   “Grindelwald?”<br/>   “Gellert Grindelwald, darkest of the dark! It was a bad day when he came to Godric’s Hollow and befriended Albus, I can tell you! Telling him all his crazy ideas! Banging on about ‘The Greater Good’, the fool!”<br/>   “The Greater Good?”<br/>   “Turning into a parrot, are you girl? Grindelwald believed in wizard supremacy - over Muggles, goblins, over everyone probably - and thought this should be achieved at whatever the cost. He even undertook a search for the Deathly Hallows thinking that possession of them would make him all-powerful and help him to carry out his mission.<br/>   “That’s the Cloak of Invisibility, the Resurrection Stone and the Elder Wand.”<br/>   “Ah, so you’ve heard of ‘em, have you? Unfortunately, my brother was so smitten by both the boy and his crazy ideas that he went along with him. To be fair, he eventually he came to his senses and broke with him, defeating him in a duel. How he managed to do this is a mystery because at the time Grindelwald had the Elder Wand so he should have been invincible.”<br/>   “Mr. Ollivander was puzzled by that, too. Riddle then got hold of it, I believe.”<br/>   “So, you know all about that as well, do you? He stole it from my brother’s tomb thinking it would make him all-powerful and allow him to kill Harry Potter who was, in his eyes, a threat owing to a prophecy made by that idiot Trelawney; and do you know where she made this prophecy? Do you?”<br/>   “No, I don’t.”<br/>   “In this very place, would you believe! Here in the Hog’s Head!”<br/>   Sally was beginning to lose the thread of what Aberforth Dumbledore was telling her but mention of the Elder wand was a reminder of what Bathilda had left her.” She stood up.<br/>   “Sorry to interrupt Mr. Dumbledore but can I show you something?”<br/>   “If yer must, girl. What is it?”<br/>   “It’s in Tom’s back pack which I think he left in your sitting room upstairs. I’ll just go and get it.”<br/>   Aberforth muttered something inaudible and sat back, drinking his tea and watching Sally disappear through the kitchen doorway. She returned a minute later with a wand. She placed it in the middle of the table before sitting down and taking a sip of her tea.<br/>   Aberforth said nothing but leaned forward and studied the wand. Sally expected him to pick it up but he did not do this. For several minutes he stared at it before looking up at her.”<br/>   “What....where’d you get this, girl?”<br/>   Sally explained how it had been found holding up a plant that Bathilda had given her when she was very young. She did not initially tell him about the circumstances that led to the discovery, thinking it irrelevant but he seemed to want to know every last detail so she ended up mentioning her visit to the hospital which first aroused her suspicions about being adopted and how her parents had finally admitted that she was not their biological child and that Bathilda had arranged the adoption.<br/>   Aberforth listened intently to everything Sally told him. His gruff manner disappeared and, as with the goats in the garden, another, softer, side of his personality surfaced. When Sally had finished telling him all that had been happening over the past few weeks, he sat back and looked at her steadily for several minutes before putting down his mug of tea and reaching out a hand to pick up the wand. He held it delicately between his finger and thumb and brought it close to his face in order to examine it in some detail. Having done this for a further few minutes, he placed it gently down on the table and took off his glasses, wiping them with a non-too-clean handkerchief he produced from one of his trouser pockets. Replacing them, he fixed Sally with his piercing blue eyes.<br/>   “Have you shown this wand to Garrick Ollivander?”<br/>   “Yes, I have and he said it wasn’t one of his but looked a bit like the Elder Wand. He said that wasn’t unusual because many wand makers copied the design. What was a bit odd was how Harry reacted.”<br/>   “And how did the lad react?” Aberforth leaned forward and looked intently at Sally. “Did he handle it?”<br/>   “Yes, he picked it up and said it felt sort of familiar. Again, Mr. Ollivander said that wasn’t surprising either because as it looked a bit like the Elder Wand, Harry was making a connection. I don’t remember exactly what was said but that’s basically it, I think. My dad thought Bathilda had simply used an old wand she no longer needed to prop up the plant.”<br/>   “No, I don’t think Batty would have done that; that’s not the sort of thing she would do at all. She had a great respect for all wands.” As he was speaking, Aberforth had got to his feet and walked over to the sink where he rinsed out his mug under the tap.<br/>   “No,” he repeated, returning to the table and picking up the wand once again. “She would not use a wand to prop up your plant, especially when there would have been plenty of sticks around in that garden of hers. Knowing her as I did, she would have had a very good reason to put it there, maybe to offer you some sort of protection.”<br/>   “Why would I need protection? Protection from what?” As she asked these questions, Sally was suddenly reminded of the conversation her parents were having back home towards the end of March, the conversation she partly overheard and where her father had mentioned Peggy and something about being perfectly safe.<br/>   “That I don’t know, girl. When were you born, if yer don’t mind me asking?”<br/>   “No, I don’t mind. I was born on 13th September 1981.”<br/>   “Well, there you are then!” As he spoke, Aberforth picked up the teapot and poured more tea into his mug, adding milk and several teaspoonfuls of sugar.<br/>   “Erm...I don’t understand.”<br/>   “Dangerous times, girl, dangerous times.”<br/>   “What, when I was born?”<br/>   “Close enough. I’m talking about the first Wizarding War which began in 1970 and ended when Riddle disappeared in 1981 after killing Harry’s parents and then trying to kill the lad himself which had been his aim all along. He failed and disappeared in a...in a...what’s that Muggle expression of yours?”<br/>   “...puff of smoke?”<br/>   “That’s the one. He disappeared in a puff of smoke - quite literally by all accounts. You were born the following year but Bathilda would not have been taking any chances. No one knew where Riddle was or whether he would reappear at any moment. Do you know when you were adopted?<br/>   “No, but I must have been very young. My parents said Bathilda thought it best if they didn’t know too much. Er…Mr. Dumbledore, can I ask you something?”<br/>   “You can ask, girl, but, like I say, I won’t necessarily give you an answer!”<br/>   “Why did Bathilda do it?”<br/>   “Do what?”<br/>   “Find homes for all those children, children like me.”<br/>   “I don’t rightly know but I think there was something in her own family, some issue. She was always very aware that vulnerable children were often treated very badly and at times their lives were in danger. There was also...” Aberforth paused and a look of pain crossed his face.<br/>   “Also...what” As soon as she had uttered these words, Sally wondered if she had done the right thing and her questioning would make him angry. However, this did not happen and after a moment of silence, Aberforth looked up at her and she saw that his eyes were moist.<br/>   “There was also what happened to my sister,” he concluded, almost in a whisper.<br/>   “Mr. Dumbledore, I really didn’t mean to...”<br/>   “No, it’s alright, girl. Let me explain because it might help you understand why Bathilda was so concerned with vulnerable children. My sister Ariana was just over a year younger than me and when she was six she was seen performing underage magic by three young Muggle boys in Mould-on-the-Wold where we were living at the time. This frightened the boys to such an extent that they attacked her, leaving her traumatised for the remainder of her short life.”<br/>   “That’s dreadful. You must all have been devastated.”<br/>   “We were and that wasn’t the end of it. When he heard what had happened to Ariana, our father went and attacked the three boys and for his action was sent to Azkaban.”<br/>   “Azkaban?”<br/>   “Wizarding prison out in the North Sea. Terrible place run by foul soul-sucking fiends called Dementors.”<br/>   “Oh, that’s awful.”<br/>   “Even that wasn’t the end of it! I believe you have another Muggle saying about trouble coming in threes. In our case it was four! After my father was imprisoned, my mother moved down to Godric’s Hollow to keep Ariana safe and away from the public eye. After the incident with the three Muggle boys and my father’s actions, she had become highly unstable, especially where magic was concerned. She just couldn’t control it and when she was fourteen, she accidentally caused an explosion which killed our mother.<br/>   “Oh, Mr Dumbledore, I…”<br/>   “And there’s one final tragedy for which I must take some of the blame. My older brother Albus had become Ariana’s guardian following the death of our mother and the imprisonment of our father. But when he befriended Gellert Grindelwald and decided to go off and look for the Deathly Hallows, I became angry and told him he could not just abandon our sister. The three of us lost out tempers and there was a duel and…poor Ariana…she came in and was…hit by a curse and killed. We will never know which of us killed her. ”<br/>   Sally did not know what to say to any of this so she got up out of her chair, went round the table, stood behind Aberforth and put her arms around him. She felt him stiffen and then relax. One of his hands came up and patted her on the arm. Sally let go and returned to her seat and neither of them said anything for a while. Aberforth busied himself drinking his tea before looking up at Sally.<br/>   “Do you really want to know who your parents were?<br/>   “Yes, I do or at least I think I do.” Not knowing where this conversation was leading left Sally feeling a little apprehensive.<br/>   “Well, I might just be able to help you with that. Can’t make any promises, mind. Come and give me a hand.”<br/>   Aberforth stood up and headed for the door leading through to the bar. Sally put down her cup of tea and followed him. When she entered the room there was no sign of him but she heard noises coming from behind the bar itself and when she went over to look, she saw him bending down and looking at the floor. Sally watched as he located a retractable handle and lifted a trapdoor, exposing a wooden staircase disappearing down into the darkness. As he started down the stairs, he caught Sally’s eye and pointed to a candlestick on the counter. Sally lit the candle using the box of matches next to it and followed him into what she assumed was the cellar. Stepping tentatively off the bottom step, she saw that she was right. It was where Aberforth kept his beer barrels and whatever else the Hog’s Head Inn sold to its customers.<br/>   “Over here, girl! Aberforth’s voice came from a dusty cobwebbed corner of the cellar over towards where there was some light entering between two horizontal hinged wooden doors through which, Sally assumed, barrels could be raised from or lowered into the cellar from the street. She joined him and saw that he was looking at two dusty wooden boxes.<br/>   “After Bathilda died last year,” Aberforth explained, “I rescued as much stuff as I could from her cottage in Godric’s Hollow. Didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands! I put it in these ’ere boxes. If I’m being honest, I wanted stuff to remember her by. We were...we knew each other from childhood.”<br/>   “That poster upstairs is hers isn’t it. We saw one like it in her cottage.”<br/>   “<em>Omens Oracles and the Goa</em>t. She gave me that in 1982 or1983 I think it was. I remember she said I was to keep it safe and look at it more closely when the time was right - whatever that was supposed to mean! Take it and keep it safe, she told me. Let the old girl down there, I think.”<br/>   “What do you mean?”<br/>   “Never got around to reading the blasted book!”<br/>   “She probably only wanted you to have something to remember her by, I expect. Doesn’t sound as if she expected you to read the book.”<br/>   “You could be right there, girl. Anyway, you take one of these ‘ere boxes and I’ll take t’other.”<br/>   Between them, Aberforth and Sally carried the boxes over towards the wooden stairs and then up into the bar, placing them on one of the tables. They were surprisingly heavy and both were short of breath by the time they had completed the task. Aberforth blew out the candle and placed the candlestick back on the bar before muttering something about keys and disappearing into the kitchen.<br/>   Sally looked at the boxes. They were both the size of one of those old-fashioned tuck boxes a few of the boarders had at Steyning Grammar School. They were made of wood and with a hinged lid with a hasp secured with a brass padlock. Before she had time to examine them further, Aberforth returned with two keys which opened the padlocks and allowed him to raise the lids. Sally peered inside one of them and saw books and what looked like rolls of parchment. There were also quill pens, many in poor condition, and a few conventional-looking letters. When Sally picked some up and looked at them, she was amazed to see that some of the stamps bore the head of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V. She picked up one of the scrolls but found the thin spidery writing difficult to read. She put it back in the box and was about to pick up another when she heard someone coming down the staircase from the sitting room. She looked up she saw Peggy and Mr. Ollivander appear and head for the kitchen. Peggy waved to her and Sally waved back. Aberforth stood up.<br/>   “You look through them,” he said to Sally, “while I go and see about some breakfast for my guests.”<br/>   Aberforth followed Peggy and Mr. Ollivander into the kitchen and Sally turned back to the boxes. She didn’t feel comfortable reading the letters, assuming they were personal, so she picked up another scroll. Again, the spidery writing was difficult to read but it did seem to be notes for a book as it appeared to be arranged in sections or chapters. She put it aside and picked up a hard-backed book the size of one of those old-fashioned ledgers used by shops and businesses before the advent of computers. Although handwritten it was easier to read. There were dates, some going back well before the First World War, together with names and places that might have related to Hogwarts School. None of it meant anything to Sally. She put it aside and picked out a similar looking book from the other box. Again, there were dates in a column down the left-hand side of the page and names in the row that followed. She looked at the first entry: 12th November 1946 and next to it Elizabeth/Elladora, followed by David and Ellen Perkins. With growing excitement mixed, in equal measure, with trepidation, Sally continued across the row and saw two further names, Cornelius and Padma Crumlick and then 31, Mill Lane, Broomfield. It took her only a moment to remember that Bromfield was the town she, Sam and Tom had stayed in before going on to Godric’s Hollow towards the end of April. She looked at the next row: 7th March 1949, Michael, John and Gladys Glover, Grover and Isadora Marchbank, 27a Foxglove Lane, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. The whole page followed the same pattern as did the next page and the one after that.<br/>   “Morning, girl!” The hand on her shoulder Sally jump. She turned and saw Sam standing behind her.<br/>   “Oh, hello Sam. Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”<br/>   “You seemed to be totally engrossed in that book in front of you. What is it?”<br/>   Sally explained about the two boxes and pointed to the book.<br/>   “Mr. Dumbledore thought I might find out something about my birth parents; and look, Sam, this book could be what I’ve been looking for! It’s a list of names, dates and addresses and I think it might be adopted children, their birth parents, the family that adopted them and their address. See what you think.”<br/>   Sam pulled up one of the other chairs at the table and sat down. She drew the book towards her and peered at it, turning the pages slowly. After a minute or two she looked up at Sally, an excited expression on her face.<br/>   “I think you’re right! I don’t see what else it could be. There’s one thing I’m not sure about, though, and that’s the two sets of parents, if that’s what they are.<br/>   “What do you mean?”<br/>   “Well, for instance, look at the first entry.” Sam turned back to the first page and pointed to Elizabeth/Isadora. “I’m thinking that’s the name of the child to be adopted. Then we’ve got David and Ellen Parkins. Are they her biological parents or her adoptive ones?”<br/>   "Oh, I see what you mean. I’ve been assuming they are her biological parents because Elizabeth/Isadora has no surname next to her. That wouldn’t be needed if in the next column you have her biological parents with the surname they all share. I think the last names are those of her adoptive parents and their address.”<br/>   “Yeah, that makes sense, but what about the Elizabeth/Isadora bit? Twins?”<br/>   “No, I don’t think so. I’ve only looked at three pages and most entries are for a single name but there are many more paired names than you’d expect to find if we were looking at twins in any given population. I think it’s more likely there was a name change. Maybe Elizabeth became Isadora to protect her identity. If she became Isadora Crumlick instead of Elizabeth Perkins, she would be difficult to track down, wouldn’t she?”<br/>   “Yeah, that makes sense, too. Well, there’s one way to see if you’re right, isn’t there!”<br/>   “How?”<br/>   “Look in the book around the time of your birth and see if you’re mentioned! If you’re right, there will be an entry for Sally, or Sally/Someone or Someone/Sally followed by, say, John and Mary Smith, your birth parents, followed by Benedict and Kathryn Allbright, your adoptive parents and their Letchworth address. Shall we have a look?”<br/>   “Well....” Now that it came to it, Sally wondered if she was doing the right thing. What if there were things about her biological parents best left undiscovered. These thoughts were interrupted by Sam.<br/>   “I think I know what you’re thinking, and if I was in your shoes, I’d be worried, too. It’s about what you might find out, isn’t it? You might discover things....” Sam stopped talking and looked at her friend compassionately. Sally nodded.<br/>   “Yeah, that’s just it. We don’t know what we’ll find.”<br/>   Sam noticed that Sally had said ‘we’ rather than ‘I’ and this made her realise that the three of them had been involved in all that had happened together and that Sally’s adoption problem had to some extent been shared between the three of them. She thought of Tom and what his reaction would be and in the next second was clear about what she should say to Sally.<br/>   “I know what Tom would say, and although I hate to admit it, I think he’d be right!”<br/>   “He would say go for it, wouldn’t he! He would say if I didn’t, I would spend the rest of my life wondering who my real parents were.”<br/>   “That’s exactly it. He might also say something about not keeping your adoptive parents in the dark. Remember, Bathilda felt it was best if they didn’t know too much because it was a dangerous time. But Riddle is dead - even Harry has to accept that now, doesn’t he - and those dangerous times have passed.”<br/>   “Yeah, but what about what’s going on at the moment with the goblins and whoever might be behind what they’re up. Hermione is very worried, isn’t she?”<br/>   “That’s all true but it isn’t the same, is it. Riddle targeted individuals who were not - what did they call them? - pure bloods. He went for mudbloods and squibs, didn’t he? The goblins are not doing this.”<br/>   “I’m not so sure, Sam They’ve been after us alright! And what about these attacks going on up and down the country? Do you think they’re responsible for them too? Do you think they’re targeting Muggles?”<br/>   “I don’t know about that but as far as we are concerned, that’s because we’ve upset them by helping Hermione, Ron and Harry escape from Grimmauld Place.”<br/>Sally was not entirely persuaded by Sam’s argument but did think that on balance it was better to know who her biological parents were than live in ignorance; and it struck her that her adoptive parents had given no indication at all that they were against her finding out. She looked at Sam.<br/>   “Let’s do it!”<br/>   “You’re sure?”<br/>   “Yeah! Let’s go for it” Sally reached for the book and began turning the pages.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 11<br/>Wednesday 3rd June</p>
<p>In which Sally is disappointed and Tom and Mr. Ollivander make a discovery</p>
<p>   Peggy, Mr. Ollivander, Hermione, Harry, Sam, Sally, Ron and Tom were up in Aberforth Dumbledore’s sitting room upstairs, eating a late lunch. By tacit agreement, none could face any more bread and cheese - it had appeared again when Peggy and Mr. Ollivander had come down - but they didn’t want to offend Aberforth who had so kindly put them all up for the night at very short notice. It was Hermione and Harry who had approached him and said they and the others felt they should contribute in some way towards their keep. They asked if he would mind them going out to the shops and getting in some food. Aberforth muttered about having plenty and it was dangerous to be out with those ‘blasted goblins all over the place’, but in the end he acquiesced and Harry and Hermione went off and returned with three shopping bags weighed down with butter, marmalade, jam, fruit, vegetables and, among other things, a whole chicken.<br/>   It was not long after they returned that several of what Aberforth called his regulars turned up and he was kept busy in the bar filling their tankards and no doubt telling them all about his visitors. He seemed surprised as well as pleased to see so many at this comparatively early hour. Harry thought it was almost certainly down to Hermione and himself being seen in the village. Whether this was the case or not, it kept Aberforth busy and left the kitchen free for a spot of cooking.<br/>   “Are you terribly disappointed, Sally?” This came from Peggy who was sitting in what they had all agreed was Aberforth’s chair, to the right of the fireplace.<br/>   “Yeah, I suppose I am. I mean, I did have some worries about what we might find and to be honest, didn’t really think my name would be there, but it was a bit of a surprise when we found those gaps in the record.” As she spoke, Sally was looking at Sam who nodded, again mentally noting the ‘we’.<br/>   The ledger-like book to which Sally referred was being passed round the group so they could all see what she meant. As she was speaking, it was being studied by Mr. Ollivander who was turning the pages slowly and paying close attention to what he was seeing and reading. When there was a lull in the conversation, he placed the book on the small table in front of him and looked up.<br/>   “Interesting, most interesting,” he began. “I agree with Sally and Sam. I think we can say with some certainty that what we have here a list of adopted children, their birth parents, the adoptive parents and their address. The month and year in the first column must be the date of their adoption. As to why there are gaps in the record and why the entries begin and end where they do, I think I may have an answer.” Mr. Ollivander paused and looked round at the expectant faces of his companions before continuing.<br/>   “The first entries begin in November 1945 and end in May1969. They then resume in February 1983 and continue until July 1997. After that date there are no more entries, just blank pages.”<br/>   “Do you think, Garrick, that the gaps in the record could be explained by there being no children needing adoption in those years?” This came from Peggy.<br/>   “That did cross my mind but I think there’s a much simpler and more plausible explanation. The gaps in the record coincide with three major events - give or take a year or so for reasons I will explain in a moment.” There was a pause before he continued. “Any thoughts about this?...No?...Well, leaving aside the first entry in 1946 - and I confess I have some doubts about that - the gaps in the record seem to coincide with the two Wizarding Wars.”<br/>   “But Mr. O, that can’t be right. The first war was from 1970 until 1981 when Riddle disappeared after trying to kill Harry. The second began in 1995, when he reappeared, and lasted until Harry killed him earlier this year. The gaps in the record don’t coincide at all!”<br/>   “Ah but they do, Hermione, if you consider what Bathilda was trying to do. She was providing a new home and family for those children who could not, for whatever reason, remain with their birth parents; and in addition to choosing suitable parents, she would have seen to it that they were safe from external forces as well. She would, for example, have needed to take particular trouble over placing squib children, being aware of how some in our community treated them, especially during the two wars we have just mentioned - no offence intended, Peggy, by the way.”<br/>   “None taken Garrick, but please go on, this is fascinating!”<br/>   “Bathilda was no fool and would have been very aware of events in the wizarding world, spotting danger in advance of it occurring. So, with regard to the first war which began in 1970, to be on the safe side, she may well have stopped recording her adoptions in 1968. She only began the entries again when she was sure the danger had passed and that Riddle was not about to reappear. She left it until 1983, to be on the safe side.”<br/>   “That makes sense,” repeated Hermione. “And the entries end in 1995 because until Harry told us Riddle had returned, she could not have known anything much before that date. They end in 1997, in this case before the danger had passed, because that was the year she...she was murdered.” Hermione looked at Harry who did not say anything but nodded. She looked back at Mr. Ollivander. “What about 1946? Does that have something to do with the Muggle Second World War?”<br/>   “It could do, I agree, but I think it is more likely to be something to do with the defeat of Grindlewald in the famous duel of that year we mentioned earlier. Bathilda would have been all too familiar with his dreams and schemes and his attitude towards anyone who was not pure blood. No, I think she resumed the entries very soon after he was defeated by our host’s illustrious brother who had come to his senses and ceased believing in the dangerous nonsense Grindelwald was spouting.”<br/>   Mr. Ollivander paused and looked at Sally. “Unfortunately, you were born at a time when Bathilda considered it too dangerous to record her entries so we may never know who your birth parents were. I’m so sorry, my dear.”<br/>   “I’m not so sure about that, Mr. O. All may not be lost!” This came from Tom who, while Mr. Ollivander had been talking, had picked up the book from the small table and was turning the pages.<br/>   “I think,” he continued, “she may have actually recorded the names but...”<br/>   “Don’t be daft, mate!” interrupted Ron vehemently. “We’ve all had a look at the dates and entries and what Mr. O. has said makes perfect sense!”<br/>   “Yeah, you’re right and I’m not disagreeing with that but there’s something we’ve all missed. I didn’t spot it when I first looked at the book, but now I have.”<br/>   “Come on, Tom. We really don’t need any more of your silly ideas!”<br/>   “Silly ideas, Sam? So, going to Hangleton - sorry, Little Hanglerton - Godric’s Hollow and Letchworth were all silly ideas, were they?”<br/>   “Alright, point taken, but what’s this I know what Bathilda’s been up to all about?”<br/>   “I think she may have recorded the names of adopted children continuously from 1946 until her death. In fact, there may be another similar book in one of these boxes going back before 1946 with similar gaps in the record if Mr. O’s reasoning is correct.” Tom sat back and one of his smug expressions made an appearance.<br/>   “Alright Sherlock, enlighten us.” Sam sounded exasperated.<br/>   “OK.” Tom picked up the book and turned to the pages before holding it up for the others to see. “If you look closely, you can see that some pages have been removed. It’s difficult to make it out because they have been cut very close to the spine. If it was Bathilda who did it, she must have used a razor or some sort of craft knife...or maybe magic! Have a look.”<br/>   The book was passed round once again and everyone agreed that Tom was right. If the book was opened as wide as it would go without actually causing damage to the spine, it was possible to see where pages had been cut out.<br/>   “You could very well be right, Tom! Well, well!” Mr. Ollivander turned to Peggy. “Oh, for a pair of young eyes, eh? I’ll admit to not being able to see as well as I did.”<br/>   “You’re right Garrick. Oh, to be young again! Read the small print, have more teeth!” Peggy looked over at Ron who grinned broadly.<br/>   “What Tom has just said,” continued Mr. Ollivander, “is very interesting but a big question remains. Even if Bathilda removed the pages, we do not know if she kept them. What I suggest is that we look thoroughly through both boxes to see if they are there and also to see if, as Tom suggests, there is another book recording earlier adoptions.”<br/>   The contents of the two boxes were carefully removed and spread out on the floor. Conventional-looking letters were put in one pile and parchments, scrolls, writing materials and books were treated in the same way. There were also a few odd and ends, a ring or two, a necklace and a small silver box that Tom thought resembled an eighteenth-century snuff box. When they had all had a good look at what was there, it was obvious there was no second book recording earlier adoptions. Sally was on the point of suggesting they place everything back in the boxes when Mr. Ollivander held up a hand which contained what looked like a sheet of paper from one of the conventional-looking letters.<br/>   “We have, sadly, found nothing that pertains to Sally’s adoption but I have here something that might enlighten us as to why Bathilda appears to have bequeathed her a wand.”<br/>   “What’s that?” Peggy leaned forward as she spoke.<br/>   “A letter from Gregorovitch the Wandmaker who wrote to Bathilda in...” Mr. Ollivander peered closely at the page, “...in July 1935. In it, he thanks her for her concern but feels she has nothing to worry about. He knows what he is doing. She is welcome to visit and he goes on to give her directions.”<br/>   “Gregorovitch lived in Bulgaria, didn’t he?” asked Hermione. “Would she really have travelled all the way over there to meet him?”<br/>   “She did not need to because at the time he had a shop here. The directions he gives Bathilda relate to that.”<br/>   “Sorry Mr. O,” interrupted Sam, “but what’s this got to do with Sally’s wand?”<br/>   “I do not yet know if it does. I need to look through more of this correspondence and see if gives more clues. Give me half an hour or so and I may have more to tell you.”<br/>   “Right you are then.” Peggy stood up purposefully and looked at the others. “Let’s leave Garrick in peace and go down to the kitchen and put the kettle on for a cup of tea. I don’t think we’ll be in Aberforth’s way because I can still hear his voice coming from the bar. By the sound of things, he’ll be entertaining his customers for some time to come!”<br/>   When they returned to the sitting room forty-five minutes later - they wanted to give Mr. Ollivander plenty of time to look through Bathilda’s correspondence - they found him leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. The ledger-like book still lay on the table next to a pile of Bathilda’s letters, together with the wand from Sally’s plant which had not been there when they went down to the kitchen.<br/>   “Garrick, are you alright?” This came from a worried-sounding Peggy.<br/>   “Yes...yes thank you. I’ve just had...well, a bit of a shock.”<br/>   “A shock? What do you mean? Has Aberforth been up here with some of his more unruly customers?”<br/>   “No, no, nothing like that. Sit down all of you and I’ll attempt to explain.”<br/>   When they were all seated and he had had a sip from the mug of tea Peggy had thoughtfully brought up for him, Mr. Ollivander picked up the wand in front of him and looked at Sally.<br/>   “I took the liberty of taking your wand out of Tom’s backpack. I hope that is alright.”<br/>   “No problem. What have you found out?”<br/>   “What have I found out, what I may have discovered, is that there is a distinct possibility that the wand you see on the table before you is…the Elder Wand!”</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 12<br/>Wednesday 3rd June</p><p>In which Mr. Ollivander offers an explanation</p><p>   Following Mr. Ollivander’s pronouncement, there was a stunned silence and then everyone began talking at once until the wand maker held up his hand.<br/>   “I can see,” he explained, “that this has come as much as a shock to you all as it has to me, but please let me explain what I think Bathilda’s correspondence has told me; and remember I have only been looking at the letters Bathilda received. We do not, of course, have the letters she sent. They remain with the recipients. Nevertheless, I believe I have enough information to justify what I have just told you.”<br/>   “But Mr. O, how can you possibly believe...”<br/>   “I know precisely what you are thinking Harry, especially as you are the only one amongst us who has used the Elder Wand. Indeed, you were its master and as such were able to defeat Riddle; but bear with me for, as I have said, I think I may have an explanation for all this. From the correspondence, it’s clear Bathilda took up Mykew Gregorovitch’s offer to visit him in his shop. She would have had to travel up to Carkitt Market which is just off Diagon Alley. While she was there, he would almost certainly have shown her the Elder Wand which was in his possession at the time, although how, when and where he came by it, we do not know. What I do know, however, is that Bathilda had a profound fear of it. Her research for The History of Magic would have told her of the trail of destruction it has left in its wake through the ages, and the dangers it brought to anyone who possessed it. I know she felt this way because she and I had many a conversation about it. I know also that she shared her misgivings with her old friend Aberforth who, of course, was well aware of the danger his brother courted through his friendship with Gellert Grindelwald who stole the Elder Wand from Mykew - or what he thought was the Elder Wand.”<br/>   “But...what do you mean? What do you mean by what he thought was the Elder Wand? It doesn’t make sense! He did steal it and then Riddle got hold of it but Harry was its actual master and was able to defeat him so I really don’t see how...”<br/>   “I know, Hermione, I know. What I have said seems to make little sense unless you accept what Bathilda may well have done when she visited Mykew.”<br/>   “You’re not going to tell us she stole the Elder Wand from him, are you?”<br/>   “No Ron, I do not think she did that. She may well have had that in mind when she visited him but I imagine he would not have let it out of his sight for one minute, especially if Bathilda had told him in no uncertain terms how dangerous it was and that he should get rid of it. No, I believe it was not the Elder Wand she stole but the copy he had made. I and other wand makers know that Mykew hoped to make a fortune by learning the secrets of the Elder Wand and by making copies which he hoped would sell for considerable sums of money. Now, from one of the letters he wrote to Bathilda, I have learned that at the time she visited he had made just one copy which he was, no doubt, anxious to show her. Whether he went on to make others and if he did, how successful he was at selling them, is another matter.<br/>   “But,” persisted Hermione, “if she didn’t steal the Elder Wand and it remained in Gregorovitch’s possession, I really don’t see how anything has changed!”<br/>   “It does sound very puzzling and I cannot be absolutely sure that what I am telling you is what actually happened; but let us for a moment go back to Bathilda’s visit to Mykew. She would have tried to persuade him to destroy the Elder Wand which he, of course, would have refused to do. He would no doubt have told her all about learning of its power and incorporating it into copies which he hoped to sell. Maybe he told potential customers they would be purchasing wands comparable to the Elder Wand itself. This would be immensely attractive to some, especially those of the darker kind. It would also, of course, have been extremely dangerous for him as it advertised to the world that he may well have possessed the real one.”<br/>   “So, you think when she couldn’t persuade him to destroy the Elder Wand, she nicked the copy instead?”<br/>   “Yes, Ron, that is what I believe she did. What she hoped to accomplish by this, I have no way of telling. Perhaps she hoped to frustrate his attempts to make further copies. Maybe curiosity got the better of her.”<br/>   “Wouldn’t he have noticed it was missing?”<br/>   “A good question, Sam, and again I do not have a definitive answer. I think it’s possible she substituted it for one she brought with her. There’s no shortage of wands being sold that look like the Elder Wand. She would have had no difficulty in obtaining one although not from my shop, I hasten to add! There is actually a comment in one of the letters I have just read where Mykew tells her not to worry as he has locked them away safely. Note that he says them and not it. He must surely have been referring to the Elder wand and the copy. This comment suggests to me he noticed nothing amiss. The fact that the postmark shows his letter was posted several weeks later supports this. No, I believe she got away with it and took the copy home with her to Godric’s Hollow and there it may have remained hidden away until Gellert Grindelwald turned up.”<br/>   “I think I know what you’re getting at, Mr. O!”<br/>   “I thought it would not be long before one of you caught my drift! Go on then, Hermione, tell us what you think happened next.”<br/>   “We know that Grindelwald stole the Elder wand from Gregorovitch and Bathilda would almost certainly have got to hear about this. After all, she was his great aunt I believe, and he was actually staying with her in Godric’s Hollow. She would have been horrified at what he might do with it.”<br/>   “I agree...go on.”<br/>   “I think what you were going to tell us was that Bathilda stole the actual Elder Wand from Grindelwald and substituted the copy she had stolen from Gregorovitch!”<br/>   “Exactly so! That’s precisely what I think happened; and if that was the case, it provides an explanation for something that has puzzled many of us for years.”<br/>   “What’s that?” This came from Sally.<br/>   “How Professor Dumbledore managed to defeat Gellert Grindelwald in that epic duel of 1945 when Grindelwald was supposedly in possession of the Elder Wand!”<br/>   “Wouldn’t Grindelwald have noticed something was wrong with it?”<br/>   “It appears not, Harry. We must remember that the copy would not only have looked exactly like the original but could well have been a very powerful wand in its own right. No, he would have had no reason to harbour any doubts about it; and in case you’re wondering whether Bathilda ever mentioned to Aberforth or Albus Dumbledore - or anyone else for that matter - what she had done, I do not think so. It would have been very foolish of her to tell anyone anything, even her closest friends and associates.”<br/>   “So, let me get this straight” continued Harry. “You think the wand in Professor Dumbledore’s tomb is Gregorovitch’s copy?”<br/>   “I do, and I believe we can clear up some of the doubts surrounding all this by a simple test.” Mr. Ollivander paused and looked round at everyone before continuing.<br/>   “I think Bathilda always had it in her mind to destroy the Elder Wand or at the very least render it powerless. Maybe she could never bring herself to physically destroy such a priceless object but she would certainly have known that in order to render it powerless, whoever was its master would have had to die without its allegiance being transferred to somebody else. It’s very likely that, by trickery or magic, she managed to make herself its master - mistress, I should perhaps say - and then hid it away from the world by using it as a stick to hold up the plant she gave to Sally. She did this, I believe, for no purpose other than to keep it hidden. If I am correct, now that she has sadly died, the wand you see on the table before us is now is of no use to anyone anymore. So…Harry...”<br/>   “What do you...oh, you want me to use it, don’t you!”<br/>   “Yes, I do. I think we should all have a go but you are the only one who has used it - the copy, that is - so you may have some affinity with it. Go on, pick it up.”<br/>   “But Sally has tried and I’ve already handled it.”<br/>   “Sally was unlikely to get any other sort of reaction from it but you might. Yes, you handled it when we were on the train and you said you felt something but you didn’t actually use it. Go on, try and lift that vase.” Mr. Ollivander pointed to the one sitting on the mantle shelf.<br/>   Harry looked anxiously at Hermione and Ron. Neither of them said anything but looked equally anxiously back at him before Ron seemed to come to a decision. He leaned forward, picked up the wand from the table and held it out to Harry. Harry took it and turned it over in his hand before pointing it suddenly at the vase and saying <em>Accio</em> in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. Nothing happened except for a few green sparks coming out of the tip. If the vase moved at all it was too small a movement to be noticed. Harry lowered the wand, looking slightly disappointed. Mr. Ollivander nodded and looked at Sally.<br/>   “You will have noticed that Harry achieved no more with it than you did, despite having used wands to great effect in the past. I suspect it will be the same of all of us.”<br/>   Mr. Ollivander’s prediction turned out to be true. One by one, they all had a go and the wand’s reaction was the same in every case; a few green sparks and the sensation of a slight increase in weight. In the case of Sam and Tom there was nothing at all.   They might just as well have been waving a stick around.<br/>   Following Mr. Ollivander’s pronouncement and their attempts to coax some reaction out of the wand, everyone fell silent, each busy with their own thoughts. Mr. Ollivander sipped his tea and then collected up Bathilda’s letters and returned them carefully to one of the boxes on the floor beside the table. He then sat back and looked round at the small group before him.<br/>   “So,” he began. “Sadly, we unlikely to discover Sally’s birthparents but we may have managed to shed some light on the wand. These are, however, in a sense, sideshows and we should not lose sight of the main reason we made the perilous journey up to Hogsmeade. This was to find out is what is currently going on, what the goblins are up to and whether or not there is someone behind their actions. I know Hermione believes that there is and I am inclined to agree with her. The question is who.”</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 13<br/>Monday 8th June</p><p>In which some of the party enter Hogwarts School</p><p> The next few days passed slowly, especially for Hermione who was anxious to get to the Library in Hogwarts. Aberforth told her this would be very foolish to attempt at the moment as the goblins were almost certainly still in the building. They came out, he told her, every six or seven days and boarded the Hogwarts’s Express. They would be away for roughly same amount of time before returning to the school. When asked what he thought was going on, he said he no idea. Sam suggested they were behind the destruction and disruption currently being experienced all over the country and everyone agreed this was very likely.<br/>   As no one had heard or seen anything of the goblins since his guests had arrived, Aberforth continued to urge caution and wait for them to leave which by his reckoning was any day soon. Peggy was worried that they were overstaying their welcome but  Aberforth dismissed this with a wave of his hand, saying he was glad of their company and in any case the Hog’s Head Inn was doing very nicely, thank you, owing to the growing number of customers. This was due, he told them, to his illustrious visitors. By that he meant Hermione, Harry and Ron. Indeed, he did genuinely pleased to have them all staying with him and Sally, particularly, noticed that his gruff manner was much less in evidence. She was always the first one up in the morning and could be found helping him tend to his goats in the back garden.<br/>   On the Thursday, they were awakened by the familiar guttural voices of goblins in the road outside the inn. This was followed by the sound of the front door opening and Aberforth shouting after them as they passed. They then heard the front door slam and all went quiet. When they came tentatively down to the kitchen, Aberforth explained the goblins were heading for the station and Bertie Bodkins would tell them when they were on their way. Bertie, he told them, had been volunteered to perform this task as he lived in a cottage nearby. Sure enough, an hour and a half later, there was a knock at the front door. Aberforth stood up, put his finger to his lips and left the kitchen, closing the door quietly behind him.<br/>   “That was Bertie,” he explained when he returned. “They’ve gone and good seven days but it’s sometimes shorter so we need to be on the look-out.”<br/>   “If they’re using the Hogwarts Express, who drives it?” This came from Ron.<br/>   “George Grimble. Poor blighter had no choice. They took his wand and threatened him and his family if he refused.”<br/>   “How can we be sure they’ve all gone?” This came from Hermione.<br/>   “We can’t, girl. All I can tell you is that the same number leave each time. I know this because Bertie counts them and then lets us know. He also says they never leave straight away. It’s usually an hour or so before they get going.”<br/>   “That’ll be because Mr. Grimble would have to light the fire in the firebox and get steam up.” explained Ron knowingly. “We could have told Bertie that, couldn’t we, Tom!”<br/>   “Yeah, we could, and if poor Mr. Grimble is having to do it all by himself, that’s tough because it’s hard work!”<br/>   After breakfast, Aberforth headed for the bar and the others went up to the sitting room. They needed to decide what they were going to do now that the goblins had left. After some discussion, they agreed it was too much of a risk for all of them to go to Hogwarts. Hermione suggested it should just be her and Harry but Ron said he wanted to go as well and find out what had happened to Pigwidgeon. He could also, he argued, act as a look-out up in the Owlery which was, he explained to Sam, Sally and Tom, a circular stone room at the top of the west tower. He said it was possible to see the station from up and if they came back early, he would be able to warn Hermione and Harry and also get a message to the Hog’s Head via Pigwidgeon if he was up there. No one could fault his reasoning and so it was agreed he should accompany Hermione and Harry.<br/>   “Well,” said Mr. Ollivander, “that leaves the five of us and what I suggest is this. I for one could do with some fresh air so if Peggy is similarly inclined, she and I could for a stroll around the village which will maybe allow us to do two things. We can talk to some of the villagers and maybe pick up some useful information. Like Ron, we can also keep any eye out for goblins should they decide to return much earlier than expected.” He turned to Sam, Sally and Tom. “I know you will probably be disappointed but I think it best you say here and keep out of sight. Hogsmeade is a total wizarding community, unlike, say, Godric’s Hollow, and its inhabitants may not take kindly to three Muggles wandering around, especially as they have already had their lives severely disrupted by these goblins. As Ron said, if he finds Pigwidgeon and there is any danger, he will send a note and someone needs to be here to receive it. I think Aberforth will be serving his customers for most of the day so he will not have time to be on the lookout for owls.”<br/>   Sam, Sally and Tom were indeed disappointed at being neither being able to accompany Hermione, Harry and Ron to Hogwarts nor go out into the village with Peggy and Mr. Ollivander. However, they understood the reasoning behind this decision and when the others had departed, went back down to the kitchen where they found Aberforth searching in the various cupboards for more tankards and glasses. This was because, he told them cheerfully, of the increase in trade he was experiencing. Sally explained what they had all agreed earlier and how it was thought best for the three of them to stay out of sight. Aberforth thought this very sensible advice and asked if they would like to help him in the bar.<br/>   The day passed fairly quickly and enjoyably for the three of them. They took turns in the bar so there was always someone on the lookout for Pigwidgeon. Aberforth had suggested they shouldn’t mention anything about themselves but just say, if asked, that they were friends of ‘The Illustrious Three’ as he continued to call Hermione, Harry and Ron, and that they were here to help get rid of the goblins. In the event, they were kept very busy serving drinks and, washing tankards and glasses. The customers turned out to be a very mixed bunch. Some looked rather unkempt much as Aberforth himself and others decidedly shifty. Some were far less concerning and friendlier. None carried wands and there was much talk of, and anger at, the goblins’ action in removing them. They need not have worried about fielding difficult questions regarding who they were and what they were doing in Hogsmeade. By the early afternoon when the drink had been flowing for quite a while and tongues had been loosened, Aberforth explained that his guests were part of a difficult and dangerous mission and were forbidden to say anything that might jeopardise it. He left his customers with the impression that what they were doing was sanctioned by the Ministry of Magic itself. This certainly did the trick and no one asked any awkward questions and Sam, Sally and Tom came to be regarded as warriors in the fight against an unwelcome enemy. There were pats on the back and offers of drinks which they all politely declined.<br/>   Peggy and Mr. Ollivander returned around five o’clock that evening having spent, they said, a thoroughly enjoyable day visiting old haunts and meeting, in Mr. Ollivander’s case, a few former acquaintances. One of these was a Mrs. Freda Footle, who had invited them back to her cottage for tea and cakes. Sam asked if they had found out anything useful but they said they hadn’t except for the fact that the village, Mrs Footle had told them, was united in its hostility towards the goblins. When asked if she or any of the other villagers had seen anyone other than the goblins enter Hogwarts, she said no one had seen or heard anyone.<br/>   At seven o’clock, just when they were all beginning to worry, Hermione, Harry and Ron returned, Ron with Pigwidgeon on his shoulder and Hermione carrying a large book under her arm. The all looked tired but were happy to join the others for a light supper in the kitchen before taking cups of tea up to Aberforth’s sitting room. Aberforth himself was still busy in the bar and from the raucous sounds coming up the stairs he was likely to be there for some time to come. Tom went down and closed the door at the bottom of the stairs, cutting out most of the noise. When he returned, he found the others looking expectantly at Hermione who had placed the large book on the small table in front of her. It looked to Tom like one of those Bibles you found in churches. It was obviously quite old and leather-bound. The title was so worn it was impossible to read but before Tom could ask what it was, Mr. Ollivander put the question all of them had been about to ask.<br/>   “So, what have The Illustrious Three found in Hogwarts?”<br/>   “Nothing at all,” replied Harry. “The place is deserted. There’s no sign of anybody.”<br/>   “We even had a look in the Room of Requirement,” added Ron, and then when he was met with puzzled looks from Sam, Sally and Tom went on to explain it was a hidden room on the seventh floor which could only be found by those desperately in need if something. The room then revealed itself and gave you what you needed.<br/>   “Yeah, we did,” added Harry, “and that was empty too, which is odd because if I was in the castle when the goblins came it would be the first place I’d go to. You’d be safe in there although now that the tunnel is blocked, there’d be no alternative way out.”<br/>   “That’s the tunnel that comes out behind that picture, isn’t it?” As she spoke, Sally was pointing at the portrait of Ariana sister that hung over the fireplace.<br/>   “Yeah, that’s right but as I said, there was no sign that anyone had been in the room at all. We had a look over most of the castle and it was the same. No sign of anybody. Hermione even went down into the kitchens and they were deserted too.”<br/>   “What about the castle grounds,” asked Mr Ollivander. “Hagrid, I believe, still lives there. What about him?”<br/>   “His hut was one of the first places we visited,” replied Hermione, “but it was empty. If the Ministry really has fallen, I’m wondering if he and everybody else in the castle have been taken down to London.”<br/>   “You mean my family might be there? Mum, Dad, Bill, Ginny…all of them?” Ron sounded horrified.<br/>   “We don’t know, Ron. It was just a thought which might explain why there’s no one around. I’m hoping this book will give us some answers.”<br/>   “What’s it about?” Tom finally got to ask his question.<br/>   “It’s a history of the wizarding communities in Britain,” explained Hermione<br/>   “How’s looking at that going to help with anything? How are we going to know what’s happened to my family by looking at some dusty old book about wizarding communities? That’s not going to help at all!”<br/>   “Ron, we need to know what’s going on with the goblins and whether there’s anybody behind their actions and I think a good place to start is Steyning?”<br/>   “Steyning?” Now it was Tom’s turn to sound surprised. “How can looking at Steyning throw any light on what’s been going on with the goblins?”<br/>   “Because there was…is…something strange happening down there. For a start, there is that thing in the church porch. What did you call it?”<br/>   “You mean the grave slab, the one with the strange letters on it? I think you said they were runes.”<br/>   “Yes, that’s right, and they said something like Here lies Ophiuchus of pure blood and noble cause who was’.... something, something and then ‘cursed be he and all his kind. And before you say anything, Ron, don’t forget what we discovered up at Chanctonbury Ring.”<br/>   “And the goblins I saw in the high street,” added Sally, “The ones that nearly trapped us in Peggy’s house.”<br/>   “And also,” put in Sam for good measure, “there’s that grave in Hangleton - sorry Little Hangleton - which we now know is Riddle’s.”<br/>   “I agree about the need to look at what has been happening in and around Steyning,” said Mr. Ollivander, “but will admit to a somewhat selfish motive for doing so. I would dearly like to know how I happened to be up at Chanctonbury Ring when I have no recollection of going or being there.” He looked over at Sam. “I would also like to know if it was I who harmed you. I sincerely hope not but I would like to know the truth even if it is painful for me.”<br/>   “Right,” said Hermione. “Let’s see what we can find out about this small market town in West Sussex.”</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter14<br/>Monday 8th June</p><p>In which a startling discovery is made</p><p>   Hermione leaned forward and opened the book on the table in front of her. She turned the pages until she found what she wanted and read out the relevant bit.<br/>   “It says here that Steyning is one of the oldest wizarding communities in Great Britain, along with Godric’s Hollow, Broomfield and Ottery St. Catchpole which are all in the comparative safety of the south west of England. None are as old as Hogsmeade in Scotland which predates them all and is the only all-wizarding community in the country. Steyning is mentioned in the Muggle Domesday Book of 1085 when the Muggle king William 1, known as The Conqueror, was on the throne. At that time, it was called Staninge, very possibly after a prominent Saxon individual or family. However, it has also been thought the name refers to stone or even to a particular stone. Indeed, in slightly later times Staeningas, as it came to be known, was called by some The Place of the Stone. This could be a reference to a grave slab to be found in the church porch and which some attribute to the Muggle Saint Cuthman. A more likely explanation is through an influx of people from Lode, another early wizarding community situated in The Fens of East Anglia. They left because of the heightened threat of persecution after St. Augustine brought Christianity to England at the end of the sixth century AD. A second exodus from the same village occurred at some point in the mid 9th century. This time the threat was from the Vikings. Amongst those who fled in this second exodus was the Slytherin family, one of whom, Salazar, would go on to become a founder member of Hogwarts School in Scotland. He and his family came to the relative safety to be found in the wizarding community of Steyning.”<br/>   “Hang on a moment, Hermione. Did you say Lode?” Tom looked at Sam excitedly. “When you came to stay with me in Cambridge, you found something about Lode in the local paper, didn’t you?”<br/>   “Yeah, that’s right, and also about that hill fort nearby. What was it called?”<br/>   “Wandlebury Ring, and it’s coming back to me now. The article mentioned strange sightings up there as well as in Lode, didn’t it? Something about a shadowy figure?”<br/>   “Knight come forth! That’s what you had to shout up at Wandlebury to summon a phantom knight! We wondered if it was the knight that had been seen up there and in Lode, didn’t we!”<br/>   “Yeah, clanking around in a suit or armour!”<br/>   “And,” continued Sam, “I remember asking you what Lode meant because it was such a funny name for a village. You said it was because of the channels dug to drain the fens, called Lodes.”<br/>   “Yeah, and then you went all scientist on me and mentioned lodestones, didn’t you?”<br/>   “Yeah, that’s right and then you banged on about Steyning being called The Place of the Stone and...what’s the matter, Hermione? You look as though you’ve seen our phantom knight!”<br/>   “That’s exactly what it says here!” Hermione pointed excitedly to the book in front of her, “It says it’s very likely that Steyning got to be called The Place of the Stone because of its connection with Lode. People thought the word referred to Lodestones, just like you mentioned, Sam!”<br/>   “Well I never! Is there no end to the talents of these Muggles!” Mr. Ollivander was chuckling as he spoke before continuing in a more serious tome.<br/>   “Does the book say anything about the Slytherin family living in Steyning?”<br/>   “Let me have a look.” Hermione ran her finger down the page. “Ah, here we are. It says Scimgeour Slytherin and his wife Haggia Wenbane and their children Anguila, Ophiuchus, Salazar and Sabira settled in Steyning and all was well until the end of the 9th Century AD when Haggia, regarded locally by the village as a witch - they were, of course, right about that! - had an argument with this Cuthman who had had recently arrived in Steyning with his widowed mother and was in the process of building a church there. She objected to what she referred to as his divine works and stole his oxen which were grazing on her land. In return, Cuthman harnessed her two sons Salazar and Ophiuchus to his plough and used them as substitutes. Salazar survived but Ophiuchus died as a result of this. He was buried up on Chanctonbury Hill where the family were now living in order to escape persecution. Salazar’s mother died soon after of a broken heart and these deaths left him with a lifelong hatred of Muggles and Mudbloods, as non-pure blood wizarding families came to be called. It was this that caused the rift with Godric Gryffindor, one of the other founders of Hogwarts, who favoured both a pure blood and non-pure blood intake for the school.”<br/>   “Hermy, all this stuff is from thousands of years ago. It’s got nothing to do with what’s going on now, has it! It’s got nothing to do with the goblins and it’s not going to help find my family!”<br/>   “I’m not so sure, Ron. The goblins were down in Steyning, remember.” Hermione looked at Sally.<br/>   “When you went to get that local paper from the shop in the high street, you saw them, didn’t you, and you thought there was someone else there.”<br/>   “I did sort of sense something yes, but I didn’t actually see anybody. What was strange was the sudden change in the weather. It went very dark and then there was that big storm. I remember the man in the shop saying there’d been having some very funny weather lately. There was the earlier flood, of course, and then when we were in The Leaky Cauldron, we looked out of the front door onto Charing Cross Road and it was very dark and was raining hard just as it did in Steyning.”<br/>   “Know what I think?” Harry was looking at Hermione and Ron as he spoke, “I know we’ve said it before but the goblins are after us because we wrecked Gringotts and took their dragon. It’s more than likely they knew we were in Steyning because they followed us there from Grimmauld Place. They’ve probably got it in for Sam, Sally and Tom because they helped us escape.”<br/>   “That may be true,” replied Hermione, “but it doesn’t explain the flood and the damage done in Steyning which, remember, happened before we were there. And what about the strange weather? Very few wizards can control local weather conditions. I don’t think even Professor Dumbledore was able to do that. Riddle could but he’s dead and I can’t see the goblins being able to do anything like that at all, even with all the wands they now have.”<br/>   “My wands!” put in Mr Ollivander bitterly. “And we’re still no closer to explaining what I was doing up at Chanctonbury Ring.”<br/>   “Can’t you remember anything, Garrick?” This came from Peggy.<br/>   “I remember staying with Ron’s Great Aunt Muriel and being troubled by the locket, Slytherin’s locket.”<br/>   “What I can’t work out,” said Harry, “is if the horcrux had been destroyed, how come the locket was able to exert some sort of hold over you like you said it did.”<br/>   “I do not know, Harry, and I cannot explain it.”<br/>   “What was it like when you found it?” This came from Hermione.<br/>   “The locket? Well, let me think. It was virtually intact but for the two glass inlays. They were broken and a thick black residue had spilled out of them, no doubt all that was left of the horcrux. I cleaned it and replaced the glass.”<br/>   “Can you be sure,” persisted Hermione, “that it was actually the locket that was affecting you? You’d had a pretty rough time when we were all at Malfoy manner - we all did - but…well...do you think your mind could have been playing tricks? I hope you don’t mind me asking.”<br/>   “Not at all and the thought has often crossed my mind. I cannot, of course, be absolutely certain but I do think it was somehow responsible for me being down in Steyning.”<br/>   “That’s what your sister Ginny thought, wasn’t it?” Sam looked at Ron as she spoke. “She was looking for Mr. O. up at Chanctonbury because of what Great Aunt Muriel had overheard him saying about a ring.”<br/>   “We keep coming back to that old hill fort,” said Hermione, “and we now know from this book it is associated with the Slytherin family.”<br/>   “Does it say anything more about them?” This came from Sally.<br/>   “I’ll look.” Hermione turned over several pages. “Here we are. There’s a further mention of Salazar being one of the founder members of Hogwarts school at the beginning of the 10th century and that he left some six or seven years later after falling out with Godric Gryffindor. He seems to have returned to Steyning around 912 A.D. following the death of his father Scrimgeour. He buried him alongside his brother and mother up on Chanctonbury Hill and nothing more is heard of him after that. It is thought he died around 927 A.D. and it was assumed he was buried with his family up on Chanctonbury Hill. The only other mention of the family occurs after the Norman invasion in 1066 which posed yet another threat to Wizarding communities throughout the land. In Steyning, because of their association with witchcraft, the graves of Salazar’s parents and brother up at Chanctonbury Ring were desecrated and their skeletons moved to Heathen’s Corner just outside the parish bounds. This was a burial site reserved for those accused of crimes and heresies.”<br/>“Heathen’s Corner?” said Tom excitedly “That’s where Steyning Man was found! What if he is Slytherin’s father or his brother?”<br/>   “Come on Tom! Even us dumb scientists can work out that there would have been several burials up there, not just the Slytherins!”<br/>   “That’s true, Sam, but Steyning Man disappeared from the Museum, didn’t he, and we found those bones under Chanctonbury Ring which looked suspiciously like him.”<br/>   “So we did Tom, so we did!” put in Mr. Ollivander excitedly. “I had forgotten about that. So...let us take stock for a moment and see what we have to go on. We have a skeleton found at Heathen’s Corner which was in the Museum until it was stolen. This same skeleton, let us assume for the moment Tom is correct, is found - along with myself, I should add - under Chanctonbury Ring where we have just learned the Slytherin Family lived over a thousand years ago. There is no mention that the family lived underneath the Ring rather than on the surface but given they were trying to escape persecution, it makes sense. By the way, when was the skeleton stolen from the Museum, Tom?”<br/>   “It was a Tuesday in late April, the 21st. I think.”<br/>   “And Sam, when were you hurt up at Chanctonbury Ring?”<br/>   “The same day. It’s not something I’ll forget in a hurry!”<br/>   “I can imagine. Now, I have one more question for you all. When do you think I left Great Aunt Muriel and arrived down in Steyning?”<br/>   “I remember,” replied Sam, “we got a message from Ginny via Pigwidgeon. That would have been around the end of the first week in April, the 5th or the 6th. She told us you were not in your shop as she’d been there to have a look. You were there too, Ron, weren’t you? You and your brother George repaired the back door to make it more secure, didn’t you?”<br/>   “Yeah, that’s right.” Ron looked at Hermione and Harry. “We were all down in Shell Cottage at the end of March so Mr. O., you would have been at my Great Aunt Muriels’s at the beginning of April.”<br/>   “That sounds about right. I was there for a while, recovering and repairing the locket for something like three weeks which means I must have been down in Steyning around the 20th April, at the same time Steyning Man was stolen and Sam was hurt up at Chanctonbury Ring!” Mr. Ollivander paused and looked round at everyone before continuing.<br/>   “Let us leave that for a moment and turn our attention to the strange circumstances following Riddle’s death at Hogwarts and his burial and exhumation by the Muggle police down in Little Hangleton. Does anybody remember when that was?”<br/>   “That would have been the very beginning of May,” Tom looked at Sam and Sally seeking confirmation. They both nodded in agreement.<br/>   “I think it was the 2nd.” It wouldn’t have been a weekday because of school. It was a Sat...” Sally never got to finish what she was saying because Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.<br/>   “Ancestor...Bones…Blood...No, really, it can’t be! It can’t be!”<br/>   “What are you on about, Harry? You’ve lost your marbles, mate!”<br/>   “No, I haven’t, Ron. I’ve just thought of something! Remember the Triwizard Tournament three years ago when Cedric Diggory and I landed up in the same graveyard, the one in Little Hangleton? That was where Riddle came back and ...I saw what happened!”<br/>   “Harry...don’t!” Hermione leaned forward and put a hand on his arm.<br/>   “No, it’s OK...really. I was there! I saw what happened. It was Wormtail who brought him back. He had a cauldron and was reciting a spell, a sort of incantation. It was something like ‘Bone of the...someone - how did it go?” Harry turned to look at Hermione.<br/>   “I think it was: <em>Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son. Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed, you will revive your master. Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe.</em>"<br/>   “Yeah, that’s it! Wormtail took a bone from the grave of Riddle’s father which was easy because he was buried right there. Then he cut my arm for the blood of the enemy bit.” Harry held out his right arm and rolled up his sleeve. There was a scar about two inches long midway between his wrist and his elbow. “Then he cut off his own hand for the flesh of the servant willingly sacrificed bit. Everything went into the cauldron and then Wormtail produced this...this thing which was Riddle and dropped it in as well and then…then Riddle emerged and...and killed Cedric. I managed to escape but it was one of the worst moments of my life. It was…horrible!”<br/>   “Indeed, Harry, indeed” put in Mr. Ollivander. “But are you seriously suggesting that Riddle is somehow alive, that he has been brought back to life a second time?”<br/>   “No, I’m not. I know I didn’t believe Hermy when she kept saying he was dead but I believe her now; and in case you think I’m suggesting someone took his body up to Chanctonbury Ring to try and bring him back to life, I’m not because we know that didn’t happen. The Muggle police were involved in digging up his body and examining it and there’s been nothing in the papers about it disappearing. It’s just that what we’ve been talking about suddenly reminded me of what happened in Little Hangleton graveyard.”<br/>   “Look!” Sam stood up and held out her right arm for all to see. She rolled up her sleeve and exposed a scar about two inches long in roughly the same place as Harry’s.<br/>   “Oh, you poor thing,” Peggy gasped. “But your scar does look exactly like Harry’s, I must say! What does it mean? I don’t understand.” She looked from one to the other but nobody said anything until a sombre-sounding Mr. Ollivander answered her.<br/>   “It means, Peggy, that if Harry is right in what he has been telling us, the same method that was used to bring back Riddle has been employed again, this time up at Chanctonbury Ring!<br/>   “You mean someone else may have been brought back to life?” This came from Sam.<br/>   “Yes, and the question we must ask ourselves is who that person is and is it the same person we think may be behind the actions of the goblins. Sally, you look worried, my dear. What is it?”<br/>   “<em>Bone of the father</em>...that’s what you said, didn’t you, Hermione?”<br/>   “Yes, that’s right. <em>Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son</em>! That’s how the incantation begins. What about it?”<br/>   “Surely you...don’t you see? <em>Bone of the father! You will renew your son</em>! If you’re right about all this then...then Steyning Man is the father of whoever has been brought back to life! And Steyning Man is over a thousand years old!”</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 15<br/>Monday 8th June</p><p>In which another visit to Hogwarts is considered</p><p>   As the enormity of what Sally had just told them sank in, there was a long silence during which everyday sounds could be heard: the voices of people in the road outside and the noise and laughter coming from the bar downstairs, even the bleating of Aberforth’s goats in the back garden. Then Tom asked a question.<br/>   “When was Riddle born?”<br/>   “December 31st, 1926” This prompt reply came from Hermione and not for the first time all marvelled at her sharp mind and retentive memory.<br/>   “And when did he die or whatever it was that happened to him?”<br/>   “When he killed Harry parents and then tried to kill Harry,” replied Hermione. “That was on the 31st October, 1981. The killing curse rebounded and caused what was left of his mutilated soul to be ripped from his body which had been destroyed. As far as we know, he somehow landed up in Albania and survived by inhabiting the bodies of various animals for several years before being found there by Professor Quirrell, a teacher at Hogwarts.”<br/>   “And that Tri-wizard tournament you mentioned was three years ago. Is that right?”<br/>   “Tom, where are you going with this?” This came from Sam.<br/>   “I’m just saying that Riddle was only sort of dead for a relatively short amount of time - fourteen years - before coming back; and I believe horcruxes were involved.” Tom looked at Hermione. “Am I right about that, too?”<br/>   “Yes. He placed parts of his soul in different objects which then became horcruxes, and we had to find and destroy them in order to have any chance of killing him. But like Sam said, Tom, what’s this got to do with anything?”<br/>   “It’s the time span. We are not talking about a measly fourteen years here, we are talking about a thousand! We’re suggesting that someone who has been dead or whatever for a thousand years has been brought back to life! And there’s been no mention of horcruxes. I mean, were they actually around a thousand years ago?”<br/>   “Very possibly. The very first one was supposed to have been created by an ancient Greek dark wizard called Herpo the Foul so actually that would have been well over a thousand years ago. But you’re right about one thing, Tom. Horcruxes don’t seem to be part of whatever’s going on now.” Hermione looked at Harry. “Maybe it’s just coincidental. Maybe whatever it was that involved Sam, Mr. O. and Steyning Man is no more than that, a coincidence.”<br/>   “That may well be so, Hermione,” put in Mr. Ollivander, “but we are all forgetting something.”<br/>   “What’s that?”<br/>   “The locket. We know that Riddle made it into a horcrux and we know that it, the horcrux, was destroyed. Harry and Ron will testify to that. What we don’t know is what remained.”<br/>   “What do you mean?” Hermione looked puzzled.<br/>   “The locket was not totally destroyed and, as I’ve said, I managed to repair it. The fact that it seemed to have some sort of hold over me suggests that whatever else it contained was not destroyed.”<br/>   “Are you saying it had another horcrux in it?” asked Hermione.<br/>   “That I do not know. All I’m saying is that there may be something there which played a part in bringing whoever it is back to life, even after a very long period of time.”<br/>   “But...a thousand years?” asked Sam incredulously.<br/>   “It is possible.”<br/>   “Nicholas Flamel!” Ron looked at Harry as he spoke. “He was pretty old, wasn’t he?”<br/>   “Yeah, something like six hundred years old wasn’t he, Hermy?”<br/>   “Yes, that’s right. It’s good to hear you both did actually learn something occasionally!”<br/>   “Did this Nicholas Flamel use horcruxes?” asked Sally.<br/>   “No, the Philosopher’s Stone,” replied Hermione. “He is the only known alchemist to make one. From it he got the elixir of life which gave him and his wife Perenelle immortality. They were French, by the way.”<br/>   “Wow! So, they’re still alive today?”<br/>   “No Tom, they’re not. Some years back, Flamel and his wife came to England and were living quietly in Devon when Professor Dumbledore became aware that Riddle was looking for the Philosopher’s Stone. He persuaded the Flamels that it should be destroyed.” Hermione looked at Harry. “You were very upset when you head this, weren’t you?”<br/>   “Yeah I was! It seemed a lot to ask of them, killing them off basically. But Professor Dumbledore talked with them and they agreed to do it. He told me that for Monsieur and Madame Flamel, it would be like going to sleep after a very, very long day and that helped me a bit, I suppose. I still feel we owe them a lot, though. If they had not agreed to have it destroyed and Riddle had got hold of it, then....”<br/>   “But he didn’t, mate, did he, so don’t go beating yourself up about it now.” Ron turned to Mr. Ollivander. “What do you think is going on at the moment? I’m really confused and really worried about my family. What’s actually happening?”<br/>   By way of reply, Mr. Ollivander got to his feet and walked over to the window. He opened it and leaned out. The sun was shining and the sounds from outside became suddenly more pronounced. These and the fresh air that wafted in through the open window made them all forget for a moment the predicament they were in. This brief respite was over when Mr. Ollivander closed the window and turned to face the small group.<br/>   “What I am going to suggest to you is something which may prove difficult, but this is what I believe may have happened, given the few facts we have at our disposal.” Mr. Ollivander paused and looked at Hermione. “Despite what you said just now, I do not think we are dealing with coincidences here. Firstly, both Harry and Sam have almost identical scars in almost identical places and it is a fair assumption that if Harry had blood taken then Sam did, too. Secondly, there’s the involvement of an ancestor. We know that Wormtail took a bone from the grave of Riddle’s father because Harry saw him do it. Then we have the disappearance of Steyning Man. Now, I do not know how - or indeed if - the skeleton fits into the picture but it seems very likely to fulfil the ‘bone of the ancestor’ part of the incantation. As to the involvement of a servant, I think it very likely I have unwittingly fulfilled that rôle when I came into the possession of the locket. In mending it, I somehow seemed to have awakened something within it and through this awakening I was led down to Steyning. Although I have absolutely no recollection of this or of any subsequent events, it is more than likely that it was I who entered the Museum, stole Steyning Man and took him to the chamber under Chanctonbury Ring. While up there, I encountered Sam and took some of her blood - blood of the enemy in the sense that she is a Muggle - before participating in the resurrection of one of the four children of Scorpio Slytherin and Haggia Wenbane, namely Anguila, Ophiuchus, Salazar and Sabira.”<br/>   “Oh, no, Mr. O.!” Hermione’s voice shook as she spoke. “I think I know what you’re going to tell us but it can’t…can’t be true!”<br/>   “Go on, my dear, tell us what you think.”<br/>   “You’re going to tell us that of the four children who may have returned, the most likely one is Salazar!”<br/>   “Because…?”<br/>   “Because it was his locket!”<br/>   “Precisely. It seems more than likely he has returned and unless he is much reformed, he will have brought with him a hatred of Muggles and half-bloods. From what we have seen of the damage being done in up and down the country, we are in the middle of a major crisis and one which I can see no means of averting!”</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 16<br/>Tuesday 9th June</p>
<p>In which a dangerous mission is discussed</p>
<p>   They were seated round the table in the kitchen drinking tea and eating hot buttered toast. Nobody had slept well that night despite being very tired. They had stayed up late into the night discussing the implications of what Mr. Ollivander had told them. The improbability of it all was not lost on any of them and whether a comment made by Tom was helpful or not, it certainly confused Harry and Ron who asked what he meant.<br/>   “What are you on about, mate? What’s all this about eliminating stuff?”<br/>   “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. That’s what Sherlock Holmes said in one of the stories. Seems to fit the situation we have here.”<br/>   Before Ron could ask for further clarification, Aberforth came in from the garden and joined them at the kitchen table. After Mr. Ollivander had told him about what they thought was happening, he said nothing, nodded a few times but appeared to have no solution to offer. He looked round at them all, grunted and excused himself, heading off for the bar. There was a moment’s silence before Hermione made the suggestion which might well have been at the back of everyone’s mind.<br/>   “Looks like we’ve got to go back to Hogwarts. I think what Mr. O. has said makes sense but we don’t know for certain that Slytherin is back and we can’t do anything until we know what we are dealing with.” She turned to look at Harry and Ron. “It’s like the Deathly Hallows, isn’t it? We didn’t believe they existed until we visited Luna’s house and we couldn’t do much until we knew more. We’ve got to go back and one of the first things I need to do is go to the library and see what else I can find out about him.”<br/>   “Yeah, I get that Hermy. That makes sense but what else did you have in mind?”<br/>   “What do you mean?”<br/>   “You just said one of the first things you need to do. What’s the other thing?”<br/>   “See if there’s any sign of him.”<br/>   “Who?”<br/>   “Salazar Slytherin of course. Who else did you think I was talking about?”<br/>   “You’ve got to be joking! No way! If what Mr. O has suggested is true, it’s a suicide mission! Anyway, we’ve already had a good look round and there’s nobody there. Looking stuff up in the library makes sense but I don’t see what else we can do.” Ron looked at Harry for support and was rewarded with a slight nod but Harry seemed to be preoccupied with something else and this was not lost on Ron.<br/>   “What are you thinking? Don’t tell me you agree with Hermy and her suicide mission. There’s no one there, is there. We’ve looked.”<br/>   “We haven’t looked everywhere, Ron,” Harry looked up at his friend and there was something that looked very much like fear in his eyes.<br/>   “Yeah, we have, everywhere.”<br/>   “No, we haven’t. There’s a place we’ve forgotten. It’s like Sam, Sally and Tom forgetting there was a cellar at Grimmauld Place. If they hadn’t remembered, we’d still be down there, probably!”<br/>   “Are you saying there’s a cellar in Hogwarts we need to find?”<br/>   “Not a cellar exactly but you’re on the right track.”<br/>   “Yeah, well there are lots of underground places in the school but I don’t see...” Something must have suddenly come to Ron because he tailed off, went very pale and raised both hands as if to ward off an invisible enemy. “No way, no way! You nearly died down there! That’s beyond suicide!”<br/>   “I know, Ron, but think for a moment who we’re talking about.”<br/>   “Yeah, Salazar Slytherin. I get that but...”<br/>   “He built it so isn’t it likely that if he’s actually back he’s going to be down there?”<br/>   “He’s right, Ron, Harry’s right.” This came from Hermione. “It’s the logical place to look. As you say, we’ve searched the place thoroughly but we didn’t think to look in the most obvious place.”<br/>   “That’s because when we went before, we didn’t know about him then, did we? We didn’t know what was going on and if we were worried about anything it was the blasted goblins.”<br/>   “That’s true, Ron, but now that we know more, we’ve got to check it out and I think it should be you and I who do it. We really can’t ask Harry to go down there again. As you said, he was nearly killed last time so...”<br/>   “Excuse me, you two. I’m here!” Harry sounded cross. “I haven’t gone out of the room so there’s no need to make decisions about me without asking! If you’re going, I’m coming too.”<br/> “But Harry, the last time...” Hermione pleaded. “It’s not fair on you, it really isn’t. You can’t!”<br/>  “Yeah, I can. It was terrible but not the only terrible thing to happen to me. Being nearly killed -maybe actually being dead for a while - wasn’t exactly great but I survived. We’ve all survived terrible things. This is no different. If you’re both going, I’m coming. That’s final.”<br/>   Sam Sally and Tom listened to this exchange and not for the first time were struck by the depth of friendship that existed between the three of them. There seemed little doubt that any one of them was prepared to sacrifice their life for the others. Maybe friendship was an inadequate word; love might have been a better one. These thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Ollivander.<br/>   “I agree with all that has just been said. Hermione is right, we do not know for certain that Salazar Slytherin has returned. I have only presented you with a hypothesis based on the few facts we have at our disposal. We need more certainty and this can only be gained by a further visit.” Mr. Ollivander paused and looked at Hermione. “A visit to the library is essential, I agree, and I think I may be of some assistance there if I came along. As to visiting the place you mention, that may also be necessary, dangerous as it may be.”<br/>   “What is this place you’re all talking about, the one Hermione, Harry and Ron didn’t visit when they were last there?” This came from Tom<br/>   “The Chamber of Secrets,” Mr. Ollivander continued a sombre voice. “It is a place that for most of the time was thought not to exist but which turned out to be all too real! It was built by Salazar Slytherin while he was at Hogwarts and in it he placed a Basilisk, a fearsome monster which he hoped would complete his self-appointed task of ridding the school of non-pureblood students. Harry managed to kill the Basilisk but if Slytherin really has returned to us, then the Chamber of Secrets is the most obvious place to find him.”</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 17<br/>Wednesday 10th June</p><p>In which something unexpected happens</p><p> </p><p>   After an early breakfast the following morning, a small party of four set off for Hogwarts. Having agreed that a further visit could not be avoided, much of the previous evening had been spent discussing how this could best be achieved. In the end, it was decided that once again Hermione Ron and Harry should go - they knew the school better than anyone else - and that Mr. Ollivander accompany them but not down into the Chamber of Secrets. He would remain in the library, researching Salazar Slytherin until they returned. Peggy wanted to go with him, arguing she could be of assistance by fetching and carrying books, but this suggestion was voted down so she along with Sam, Sally and Tom were to remain at the Hog’s Head Inn, keeping a lookout for Pigwidgeon and any messages he might bring. Before they left, Sally overheard Harry say something about asking Aberforth whether he had any of rope. He added something about bathrooms but none of this made much sense to her.<br/>   The day unfolded in much the same way as it did the last time Hermione, Ron and Harry went to Hogwarts. Sam, Sally and Tom took turns helping out at the bar while Aberforth chatted to Peggy in the kitchen, mainly about his longstanding friendship with Bathilda Bagshot.<br/>   It was around midday when something occurred that none of them had seriously considered. There was a loud knock on the front door and Sally who had been washing and drying glasses behind the bar, put down the dishcloth and went to answer it. On the doorstep stood a small middle-aged man dressed in a dark green cloak. On his feet were silver-buckled shoes and on his head a shapeless yellow hat. He was seriously out of breath and it took him a moment, bent over with his hands on his knees, to recover sufficient breath to speak.<br/>   “Ah, young lady, you must be one of the illustrious ones helping rid the village of goblins.”<br/>   “Erm...yes. Can I help you?”<br/>   “I...well...it’s more a question of me helping you, my girl! My name’s Bertie Bodkins and I’ve come to tell you all that they’re back! They’ve returned!”<br/>   “I’m sorry, er...who?”<br/>   “The goblins, lassie, the goblins! Who else! The Hogwarts Express has just steamed into Hogsmeade station and as we speak they’ll be on their way up to Hogwarts!”<br/>   “But they...they can’t be. It’s too early!”<br/>   “There’s no telling with ’em, I’m afraid, no telling. Usually it’s about a week they’re away and up to their tricks but not always. Now, I’ve delivered my message and I must be off. I don’t like leaving my family when they’re around. They’re not to be trusted, those goblins. Please inform Mr. Dumbledore of their return. Good day to you.” With that Bertie Bodkins straightened up, raised a hand in farewell and trotted off down the street.<br/>   Sally ran straight into the kitchen where she found the others. She told them what she had just heard and the result was consternation. No one was in any doubt what this meant for Mr. Ollivander, Hermione, Harry and Ron and the danger which now threatened them. Peggy stood up and there was decisiveness in her voice when she spoke.<br/>   “Aberforth, how long does it take the goblins to get from the station to Hogwarts?”<br/>   “Twenty minutes, something like that. Maybe a little longer”<br/>   “Right!” Peggy turned to the others. “We must go right now and warn them and there is no time to lose; and I think we should all go so that that there is more chance of finding them.” she turned back to Aberforth. “Do you think you and your friends in the bar could delay them a little, cause some sort of disturbance to distract them? That would buy us some time.”<br/>   “Leave it to me, Peggy, leave it to me. Nothing would give me greater pleasure! Now, you lot get going.” Aberforth stood up and headed briskly for the bar. Tom told the others to wait for him at the front door while he got his backpack from the sitting room upstairs.<br/>   “I have our torches in it,” he called over his shoulder. “They might be needed. I’ll grab some food and drink from the kitchen while I’m at it.<br/>   “Can you bring Bathilda’s wand as well?”<br/>   “What’s the point, Sally. It doesn’t work, does it! They all tried it.”<br/>   “I know that, you know that, but the goblins don’t, do they! It’s on the table.”<br/>   In less than a minute they were out in the street and heading for Hogwarts, Peggy walking briskly ahead and all of them keeping a close look-out for goblins. It took just under five minutes to reach the tall wrought iron gates flanked by two pillars, a stone winged warthog atop each one. The gates were closed but not locked. Tom approached them and pushed the left hand one open sufficiently to allow everyone through. As he did so he felt a strong urge to turn back, beset by a strong feeling that he needed to be somewhere else and doing something different. His thoughts turned to school and he experienced strong feelings of guilt about not being there. He knew this was part of the protection Hogwarts gave itself and was in no doubt the others were feeling the same way with the possible exception of Sally who seemed immune to the enchantment. He pushed the thoughts aside and entered the school grounds. The others followed. Ahead of them, a wide gravel path led up towards the school. There were a few trees alongside it which afforded them some slight protection from any sharp-eyed goblins. A few more minutes brought them to a large studded oak door set in a stone arch, both of impressive proportions. As with the school gates, the door was closed but not locked. Sam turned the handle and she and the others stepped into a large entrance hall. The floor was made of worn but highly polished floorboards and the ceiling was vaulted. There were pictures all over the walls, most of them portraits. A large wooden table stood to their left, together with a few high-backed chairs. Tom went swiftly over, grabbed one of the chairs and wedged it firmly under the front door handle, hoping it might delay the goblins for a short while. He then ran over to the table, grabbed another chair and joined the others who were waiting for him by another door at the far end of the hall. Once he had joined them, they moved through the door and stood silently on the other side while Tom again wedged the chair under the handle.<br/>   They all stood still for a moment taking in what was before them. A long dimly-lit corridor stretched ahead of them. Suits of armour could be seen at regular intervals on both sides and staircases climbed to upper floors only dimly visible in the light that came from windows high up on the walls. There were no notices indicating what was where. Sally remembered how well sign-posted Steyning Grammar School was, with arrows indicating the direction to take for the library, Russell Centre, dining rooms and so on. As a new girl, she had been very grateful for this. Here at Hogwarts there was nothing at all and they had no idea which direction to take.<br/>   “Oh dear! I should have thought of this. It’s all my fault!” This came from a distraught Peggy.<br/>   “What do you mean,” asked Sam. “None of this is your fault at all.”<br/>   “I should have remembered that after Hermione, Harry and Ron, the only other person who knows his way around the school is Garrick Ollivander. He was here as a student many, many years ago. I should have remembered that and suggested he stay with us.”<br/>   “None of us thought that would be necessary, Peggy.”<br/>   “I know Sam, but now we’re stuck not knowing where anything is and where to go.”<br/>   “Let’s move further down this corridor,” suggested Tom. “The goblins must be getting close and the further away we are from the front door the better. Come on.”<br/>   They walked swiftly on hoping against hope that some clue would present itself or that they would get lucky and stumble upon the library or the bathroom Sally had overheard Harry mention. Neither of these things happened but two other events occurred in quick succession. The first was a series of loud bangs which echoed down the corridor. It didn’t take them a moment to work out that the goblins had reached the front door and were trying to get in. As they fled down the corridor the second event occurred which seemed to hold out some hope. There was a flapping noise and something swooped down in front of them and landed on head of one of the suits of armour on the right-hand side of the corridor. It was an owl and not just any old owl. It was Pigwidgeon and there was a note tied to one of his legs. Sam approached and gently removed the letter. She opened it up and read what it said.<br/>   “Goblins on their way! Saw them from up in the owlery. Don’t come. Too dangerous. Stay and hide. Ron.”<br/>   “Well it’s a bit late for that now, we’re here!” she added.<br/>   The banging noise had stopped but after a moment it started again. Tom turned to the others.<br/>   “I think they’re through the outer door and are now trying to get through the inner one. It won’t hold for long. Come on!”<br/>   They set off once again down the corridor but then something made them all stop. Pigwidgeon had lifted himself off the head of the suit of armour and was now flying ahead of the down the corridor. He landed on another suit of armour, this time on the  left-hand side and looked back at them. When they caught up with him, he flew on ahead before alighting on top of a large picture frame and once again looking back at them.<br/>   “He’s guiding us,” said Peggy excitedly. “He’s telling us to follow him!”<br/>   “If that’s what he’s doing, where’s he taking us?” asked Sally.<br/>   “I don’t know,” replied Peggy, “but I think we should follow him. We really don’t have much choice, do we?”<br/>   While Peggy had been talking, Pigwidgeon had been hopping up and down, flapping his wings and giving small hoots. As soon as he had their attention he flew off down the corridor before pausing and waiting for them to catch up. Then he was off again and very soon left the corridor and flew up a staircase, alighting on the stone newel post at the top and looking back at them. When they caught up with him, he flew off down another dimly-lit corridor. It was deathly quiet, so quiet that the beating of his wings could clearly be heard along with his occasional hoots. Catching up with him once more, they found him perched on the top of a half open door, eyeing them with his head cocked to one side. Tom approached carefully and with his fingers to his lips indicating to the others they should be quiet, peered round it.<br/>   “Well,” he said when he had withdrawn his head, “The room in there looks very much like a bathroom.”</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 18<br/>Wednesday 10th June</p>
<p>In which they make a startling discovery</p>
<p>   When they all entered the room to which Pigwidgeon appeared to have led them, they did indeed find themselves in a bathroom but not one that was in any way serviceable. There was rubble all over the floor and most of the basins were either broken or chipped. The toilet cubicles to their right were in an equally bad condition with doors hanging off their hinges or missing altogether. Most surprising of all was the large hole in the wall to their left. It looked as if it had originally been smaller and circular, with a diameter of around thirty inches but it appeared to have been enlarged. Bricks and stonework had been removed - the evidence was all over the floor - and the entrance considerably enlarged. Peering into the hole, they were able to see rough-hewn steps leading down into the darkness. Sally was immediately reminded of the way into the underground chamber at Chanctonbury Ring.<br/>   “Do you think that’s the way into the Chamber of Secrets place they were talking about?” asked Sam.<br/>   “I think it must be,” replied Peggy, “but…”<br/>   “…look what I’ve found!” Tom’s voice came from the far end of the bathroom where he had been examining the cubicles. He appeared out of the far one, holding up a length of rope. “My guess is,” he continued, “they thought they might need it to get down the tunnel over there but found that it had been enlarged since Harry was last here so they didn’t actually need it. They hid it in the cubicle so the goblins wouldn’t find it.”<br/>   "So, we’ve got to go down that tunnel, do you think?” Peggy sounded very apprehensive but before she could say anything further, Sally held up a hand and ran towards the bathroom door. She disappeared into the passage outside for a moment before reappearing, a look of fear on her face.<br/>   “The goblins, I can hear them!” she whispered, looking anxiously from one to the other.<br/>   “Quick, into one of the far cubicles! Close the door and be as quiet as you can!”<br/>   They quickly did as Peggy suggested and Sam had only just pulled the door of her cubicle closed before the familiar but unwelcome guttural voices of the goblins could be heard as they ran up the corridor. The door was flung open and they entered the bathroom. Mercifully, they did not stop and did not appear to have noticed Pigwidgeon who was perched on the top of the far cubicle while Peggy crouched fearfully inside. After a minute or so, the sound of their voices and the patter of their feet died away in the tunnel and all was quiet.<br/>   Peggy emerged tentatively from her hiding place and the others followed suit. They looked fearfully around but the room was deserted. Pigwidgeon flew down from his perch on top of the cubicle and landed on Peggy’s shoulder where he nuzzled her neck, making gentle hooting noises. This gave Sally an idea.<br/>   “Peggy,” she said carefully, “Why don’t you take Pigwidgeon and go and find Mr. Ollivander in the library. Find out what he’s discovered and then both of you can head back for the pub and tell Mr. Dumbledore what’s going on.” Sally looked at Sam and Tom for their support and was relieved to see them both nod their agreement. She turned back to Peggy.<br/>   “Don’t be offended, but the steps look pretty steep and rough and I know you’ve got all your own teeth and things but you and Mr Ollivander are getting on a bit so I thought...”<br/>   “I’m not offended at all, Sally, and yes, those steps do look a bit daunting. I’ll certainly do as you suggest but I really don’t like the idea of you three going down there. The goblins are armed with wands and you have nothing to defend yourselves with. I really don’t like it at all!”<br/>   “We’ve got to go, Peggy,” put in Sam. “They’re in great danger. We really can’t just leave them, can we? Actually, we do have one weapon at our disposal.”<br/>   “What, Sally’s wand? It doesn’t work, Sam.”<br/>   “No, not the wand, Tom, surprise. Surprise is our weapon. The goblins don’t know we’re here and, yes, OK, they know someone put those chairs under the door handles but Hogwarts is a big place and in their eyes whoever did it could be anyone. They don’t know it’s us here in the bathroom and that we know where they’ve gone.”<br/>   “But they could all come pouring back out of that hole any minute!” This came from Sally.<br/>   There really was little time to be lost so it was agreed that Peggy should take Pigwidgeon and go in search of Mr. Ollivander. After she had had hugged them all and made her way out of the bathroom, Pigwidgeon perched on her shoulder, Sam, Sally and Tom went over to the gaping hole and stood before it. Tom coiled the rope he had found and slung it over his shoulder before Sam suggested she carry it as he already had the backpack and would need one hand free to feel his way down and the other to hold the torch. Tom handed her the rope, felt in the back pack for the torch and stepped forward carefully.<br/>   The roughly-hewn steps went steeply down into the darkness and as they felt their way forward, they were dismayed to find they were unable to stand upright. This had obviously not been an issue for the goblins as they were considerably shorter. However, although this was uncomfortable, it did allow them to use a hand on the roof as well as the walls to steady their descent. Down and down they went, the beam of Tom’s torch seeming not to penetrate very far into the inky blackness. There were times when one or other of them trod on a loose piece of stone and nearly lost their balance but all three avoided a serious fall; the thought of tumbling down into the darkness made them all extra careful.<br/>After a further ten minutes of slow progress Tom let out a cry.<br/>   “We’ve nearly down! I can see the bottom step!”<br/>   Sure enough, it was not long before they stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up a passage that stretched ahead into the darkness. Like the stairs, it seemed carved out of solid rock but the floor was dry and slightly sandy and, best of all, they were able to stand upright. As they progressed cautiously forwards, they noticed small passages leading off to the left and right but with no indication as to where they led. Now and again they saw small animal bones scattered over the floor which Tom suggested were most likely to be those of long-dead rats. Another few minutes brought them to a halt in front of a pile of rubble that partially blocked the passageway. There was just enough space to squeeze through. They progressed on their way for another minute before a more formidable obstacle stood before them. This was a large door set in the rock. What was extraordinary about it was not just the size but also the design. It was circular, made of what appeared to be iron and decorated with seven snakes whose tails formed the hinge on the left-hand side. Their iron bodies stretched across the whole of the door, their heads extending to the rim. There was no sign of a lock or a handle of any sort. Tom approached cautiously and shone his torch over the surface before turning to speak to Sam and Sally.<br/>   “If the door isn’t locked, we may be able to open it. Sam, can you pass me the rope, please.” Sam did as he asked and Tom turned back to the door, made a loop at the end of the rope and attached it to the head of the middle snake situated where, had there been one, you would have expected to see a handle or a keyhole. Keeping the rope taught, Tom moved backwards and to his left so that the loop remained round the head of the snake. Seeing what he was trying to do, Sam and Sally joined him, and taking a hold on the rope, all three of then pulled as hard as they could. Nothing happened except that the rope slipped off the snake’s head, nearly sending all three of them sprawling on the ground. They tried two or three times more but with a similar result.<br/>   “I can see what’s wrong,” said Sam, picking herself up from the floor and brushing the sand off her jeans. “The angle of the rope to the door is too acute. What we’re really doing is pulling the door to the left when really we want to be pulling it straight out but we can’t do that because then the rope won’t stay over the snakes head.”<br/>   “You’re right, and I can now see there is room in this world for scientists after all!”<br/>   “Well thank you Tom! Without us you lot would probably still be grunting around in caves rubbing two sticks together!”<br/>   “A stick’s what we want. If we can find one, we might be able to get this door open!” This came from Sally who, while Tom and Sam had been discussing the merits of scientists, had gone over to the strange door and was staring at it intently.<br/>   “Look,” she said when Sam and Tom joined her. “The door doesn’t fit tightly in the frame. There are places where there’s a gap of an inch or so between the door and the frame. If we can find a piece of wood or something, we can fit it in the gap and tie the rope to it. Then we may be able to pull the door open.”<br/>   Sam and Tom looked where Sally was pointing and saw that she was right. The two largest gaps were near the top and the bottom. Sam said it was a pity there wasn’t one midway on the right as that would give them the best leverage but Sally’s idea gave them the best chance they had of getting the door open. Tom told both girls to stay by the door while he went back down the tunnel to see if he could find something suitable. This left them in near total darkness for a while. Only the intermittent light from the torch allowed then to see each very dimly and this was reassuring. Luckily this slightly unnerving situation didn’t last long as Tom returned saying he hadn’t found anything they could use to wedge in one of the gaps.<br/>   “We’re rather stuck then, aren’t we,” he added forlornly. “That leaves us with two possibilities as I see it. We can wait here for the goblins to come back out and then ask them politely if we can go in or we can return to the bathroom, back up all those wonky steps.”<br/>   “Well, the goblins might not appear for another week, Tom, and if and when they do, they’d probably zap us with their wands! If we go back to the bathroom, that won’t help Hermione, Harry and Ron so I really don’t know what we can do!” Sam suddenly sat down heavily on the floor of the tunnel and put her head in her hands. Tom put a hand on her shoulder and looked at Sally pleadingly.<br/>   “Sally, you’re our last hope. Do you have any other ideas? You got us into the chamber under Chanctonbury so…any thoughts?”<br/>   “Well…maybe.” Sally was staring at the door again as she spoke. She went closer and put her hand in the gap between the frame and the door towards the bottom. She turned to look at Sam and Tom, an excited expression on her face.<br/>   “I think the door has a wooden frame but it’s rotted away in places here and I can feel an iron bolt that goes right through it and probably holds the two sides together.” She held out a hand. “Pass the rope over, Tom.”<br/>   Tom went to where they had left it at the left-hand side of the tunnel and passed it to Sally who fed it carefully into the gap and over the bolt. When she had managed to pull the end back out of the gap, she tied a knot before straightening up.<br/>   “Grab the rope and then if we all pull together and if the door isn’t actually locked, we may just be able to pull it open. Fingers crossed!”<br/>   They all did as Sally suggested and when she told them to pull, they pulled as hard as they were able. They were rewarded by a creaking noise. Tom dropped the rope and approached the door.<br/>   “Brilliant, Sally!” he cried “It’s opened a little bit so we know it’s not locked. Let’s try again.”<br/>   It took three more attempts before the door opened sufficiently for Sally, the slightest of the three, to squeeze through and push from the other side while Tom and Sam pulled from theirs. When it was wide enough for them all to squeeze through, Sally reappeared and untied the rope. Tom coiled it once more and handed it to Sam.<br/>   “Do you think it’s OK to go on? Did you see anything, Sally?” This came from Sam.<br/>   “It’s pitch black in there so without the torch I couldn’t see anything. I think the tunnel goes on but I can’t be sure.”<br/>   “Well, there’s only one way to find out. Come on.” Tom moved forward, squeezed through the gap and the others followed.</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 19<br/>Wednesday 10th June</p>
<p>In which they find their friends</p>
<p>   Sally was right, the passage did continue but there was a noticeable difference. Whereas before the walls and ceiling of the tunnel had been rough-hewn, here they were smooth and polished. The floor, too, had lost its rough sandy covering and was paved. They walked cautiously forward and suddenly the tunnel ended and they stood on the threshold of what they sensed to be a much larger space. Tom’s torch had been shining on the ground but when he raised it there were gasps of astonishment. The sight that met their eyes was truly astounding. The paved area continued as a central walkway in a cavern of cathedral-like proportions. It was flanked on either side by enormous black stone statues of snakes’ heads, their gaping mouths displaying fangs and forked tongues. At the end of this cavernous space, they could just make out a raised area above which a Medusa-like head, carved in the rock and also of enormous proportions, stared out at them, a wild expression on its ancient face. When they got closer to it, they saw that what they mistook for a head of snakes - not so unlikely give what lined the walkway - was actually the wild-looking hair of an old man with a beard and a gaping hole for a mouth.<br/>   So intent had they been in taking in this scene, they did not notice what lay practically at their feet as they approached a raised area at the end of the cavern. It was only when Sam screamed that they did.<br/>   “Sam, what is it? Are you OK?” Tom swung the beam of the torch from the gigantic stone figure before them onto Sam’s face. For answer Sam pointed at the ground. There to her left lay the skeleton of an enormous snake-like creature. From the skull to the end of its tail it must have measured some twenty yards. The yellowing bones were surrounded by what looked like rotted scaly skin.<br/>   “Do you think it’s that Basilisk thing Harry killed?” asked Sally tremulously.<br/>   “Could well be,” replied Tom. “Anyway, it’s very dead so that’s good. It’s the goblins I’m worried about! Where are they? That’s what I want to know. We haven’t seen or heard anything of them since we came down here. Where’ve they got to?”<br/>Sam suggested they might have gone through the mouth of the stone figure and Tom agreed with her until Sally, who had wandered off to the left, called out asking Tom to bring the torch over.<br/>   “Look, there’s an archway leading to another passageway,” she said, pointing to an opening carved in the rock. They might have gone through here and Hermione, Ron and Harry might be through there as well. I wonder if there’s one the other side. I’ll go and look. Shine the torch this way, Tom.” Sally walked over to the right of the giant head and peered down from the edge of the rocky platform on which the three of them stood.<br/>   “Yes, there’s another one here,” she called back but before she could say anything further, she stopped still and put a hand to her ear.<br/>   “I can hear a noise! I think it’s coming from over there.” Sally pointed over to where she had stood a moment ago.<br/>   “Is it the goblins?” asked Sam nervously.<br/>   “Don’t know. It’s just a sort of background noise, a bit like what Peggy described coming out of the tunnel at King’s Cross.”<br/>   “What shall we do? Make a run for it, back through the snake door and up the tunnel to the bathroom?” Sam looked fearfully at Tom but it was Sally who spoke.<br/>   “It’s getting louder! Let’s get behind those snakes over there.”<br/>   Swiftly the three of them moved to the right of the walkway and hid themselves behind the nearest giant stone snake. Luckily, there was a narrow space between the back and the wall of the cavern, just wide enough for them to crouch down. Tom put out his torch and they waited in pitch darkness, fearful of what might happen next.<br/>   For about a minute nothing did happen. All they could hear was the muffled sound coming out of the far archway and then suddenly they were all aware that it was no longer pitch dark. They could make out the indistinct shape of the giant snake statue in front of them and even as they looked, other forms became visible as the light intensified. Suddenly, the cavern brightened considerably, almost as if someone had thrown a switch. The three of them shrank back down in the narrow space between the snake and the wall. After a moment, Tom moved, raised himself slightly and peered out before crouching back down again hurriedly.<br/>   “It’s the goblins, loads of them,” he whispered. “The light comes from the wands they’re holding.”<br/>   “Could you see Hermione Ron and Harry?” This came from Sam who had put her mouth to Tom’s ear.<br/>   “No, I don’t think so,” whispered Tom. “I’ll have another quick look.” He was about to move when he felt a hand grab his right arm tightly. He quickly realised it was Sally as Sam was on his left.<br/>   “Don’t move, Tom,” she hissed. “I can hear a noise coming from the other tunnel, the one on our side! If it’s more goblins and they come out, they’ll see us!”<br/>   Sally was right. In the next moment voices could be heard and then the light from wands could be seen. The three of them moved swiftly from behind the snake statue and into the space between it and the next one. Here, they could not be seen by anyone coming out of the right-hand archway but they would be visible to anyone coming down the central walkway; but there was nowhere else to go. Moving further down towards the snake door and putting some distance between them and the goblins ran the very real risk of being seen or heard. They crouched down, making themselves as small as possible and then they had evidence of what they had all been dreading; proof that the goblins had their friends.<br/>   “Gerrof, yer little critter...let go...yer hurting me...”<br/>   It was the unmistakeable sound of Ron Weasley’s voice. Tom peered cautiously round the end of the statue before swiftly pulling back in and turning and whispering to Sally and Sam.<br/>   “I can see them! They’re underneath the big stone face. It looks as if they’re tied up.”<br/>   The light further intensified in the cavern as more goblins came out of the right-hand archway. They could now make out the familiar guttural sounds as the spoke to one another in their unintelligible language and then suddenly there was silence and they could hear footsteps approaching; not the pitter-patter of the smaller goblin feet but those of someone considerably taller. Whoever it was then stopped and they heard the sound of a voice that was definitely not that of a goblin. It was deeper and more resonant. Tom risked another quick look and when he had done so he turned to Sam and Sally, a look of fear on his face.<br/>   “There’s a man there. He’s not a goblin, he’s much too tall to be one of them. He’s dressed in a long, black robe as far as I can see and he’s standing in front of Hermione, Harry and Ron and I think he may have a wand in his hand!”<br/>   “Oh no! Will he...what can we do? We can’t take them all on!” Sam looked pleadingly up at Sally and Tom and there were tears in her eyes. Tom squeezed her arm but had no suggestions to make. Then they heard the man speak again and although they could not understand what he was saying - some words did seem similar to those the goblins uttered - he sounded angry, very angry and his anger, they assumed, was directed entirely at Hermione, Harry and Ron.<br/>   It was then that Sally moved, Tom felt her put a hand in his back pack before edging past him and peering round the snake statue that hid them. She took a quick look but then instead of withdrawing hastily as Tom had done, she stood up and stepped onto the paved walkway, in full view of all those gathered at the end of the chamber. Tom tried to grab her but he was too late, she was already out of reach; and now, unbelievably, she was running towards all those gathered under the giant stone head.<br/>   “What is she doing!” wailed Sam, all thought of keeping her voice down forgotten. “This is crazy, just crazy!”<br/>   “Sally, come back! Stop!” This came from Tom as he and Sam broke cover and stood together on the paved walkway. Strangely, no one seemed to notice they were there. All eyes were on Sally who had jumped onto the raised area under the giant head and placed herself between the tall, gaunt figure and Harry who knelt on the ground behind her, his hands tied behind his back. Hermione and Ron were similarly bound and behind Harry. As Tom and Sam stood rooted to the spot, seemingly unable to move, Hermione echoed the thoughts going round their heads.<br/>   “Sally, stop! Don’t do this! He’ll kill you! He has the Elder Wand! Sally please...”<br/>   But Sally took no more notice of Hermione than she did of Sam and Tom. She stood there, clutching something in her hands, and looked up defiantly at the threatening figure who loomed over her. Then Harry spoke to her and his voice sounded surprisingly calm.<br/>   “Sally, this is not your fight. It’s me he wants, not you. Please...don’t do this. Just go now...please.” Then looking up, Harry addressed the figure before them but in a tongue neither Sally nor Sam and Tom could understand. The figure responded but again nothing was intelligible to them. All that came across was extreme anger and this seemed to be directed at Harry.<br/>   When, later, they all tried to explain what happened next, they found it difficult to put into words. This was mainly because what actually happened next, happened very, very quickly. One moment Harry was speaking in a language none could understand and Sally was still standing there defiantly. In the next instant the threatening figure raised his arm, the one that held a wand. Hermione and Ron screamed as it was pointed at Sally and a pulse of dazzling light emanated from it. At the very same moment, words that could be understood only too well were heard - <em>Avada Kedavra</em>! Tom closed his eyes and Sam buried her head in his shoulder. They clung to each other not daring to look. Sally had just been killed, they were sure of it. But before they opened their eyes, they found themselves being roughly pushed aside as goblins came pouring down the central walkway, screaming and casting their wands aside as they ran wildly towards the chamber exit. When the last of them had passed, they opened their eyes and saw Hermione and Ron still sitting on the ground where they had been a moment ago. The same was true of Harry except he had shuffled forward as best he could and was bending over Sally who was slumped on the floor still clutching something to her chest. Of the tall gaunt, black-clad figure there was absolutely no sign.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 20<br/>Wednesday 10th June</p><p>In which suggestions are made</p><p>   Sam and Tom ran towards the small group gathered under the giant face carved in the rock at the end of the chamber. When they saw them, Hermione and Ron got unsteadily to their feet, hands still tied securely behind their backs.<br/>   “Quick, go and see to Sally, Sam. Leave the rope here with me.” As he spoke, Tom was rapidly taking off his backpack and feeling inside it. He produced a penknife and opening it up quickly cut the cords binding Hermione and Ron. He then turned towards Harry and freed his hands before joining the others gathered round Sally. Fearing the worst, he peered over their heads and was amazed to see that her eyes were open but moving from side to side in an uncontrolled and uncoordinated way. Sam bent over her and took her hand.<br/>   “Sally, are you OK? Please tell me you’re OK!”<br/>   Sally’s eyes stopped their wild dance and settled on Sam’s face. Something seemed to come together and she gave a small nod. Sam squeezed her hand and looked up at the others, tears in her eyes.<br/>   “I think she’s OK, I think she’s going to be OK!” She looked up at Tom who nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.<br/>   “Well, Ron, I think I’ve just been upstaged or something!” This came from Harry who was rubbing his wrists as he spoke, to get back some circulation.<br/>   “What do you mean, mate?”<br/>   “<em>The Boy Who Lived</em>! Isn’t that what they used to call me? Up until a moment ago I was the only person ever to have survived the killing curse! It now looks to me as if Sally has just done the same thing!”<br/>   "Yeah, but you’ve got the scar to prove it! Can’t see one on her but, yeah, she’s certainly survived something and I heard the killing curse spoken. What do you think, Hermy?”<br/>   “It certainly looks like it. I mean, we all heard those dreadful words, didn’t we? We saw the curse hit Sally squarely in the chest but then it rebounded and in the next moment there was that sort of high-pitched shriek and Slytherin vanished.<br/>   “Are you now sure it actually was Slytherin? We’ve never been absolutely sure, have we? How do you know it was him?” This came from Sam.<br/>   “Because Griphook told us,” Hermione explained. “He was one of the goblins down here. We’ve had dealings with him before and I wouldn’t trust him completely but he did tell us a short while ago that Slytherin had returned, was here in Hogwarts and he and the other goblins were following him because he had given them the wands - which they’ve just thrown away - and the promise of freedom. But I don’t understand what’s just happened unless…”<br/>   “Unless what?” asked Ron.<br/>   “Well, I was thinking about what Mr. Ollivander has been telling us but let’s not go into that now. There are more important things.” Hermione turned to look down at Sally.<br/>   “How are you feeling? Do you think you are you able to stand up?”<br/>   Still seemingly unable to speak, Sam nodded and with Tom’s help sat up and then got unsteadily to her feet. As she did, something she had been holding dropped to the ground. Hermione picked it up. It was her wand, the one found propping up her strange plant.<br/>   “I think,” Hermione said slowly, “that this wand has just saved your life, Sally, and you may not have a scar like Harry’s but you may have a bit of a burn mark. Your top looks a bit singed.<br/>   “Sally looked puzzled for a moment before moving her hands away from her chest. Another wand fell to the floor, one that looked identical to the one Hermione held in her hand. Nobody moved or said anything until Harry chuckled.<br/>   “Look at that,” he exclaimed. “Just look at that! Must be the same as what happened to me!” Seeing puzzled looks all round and not just from Sam, Sally and Tom, Harry expanded on what he had just said.<br/>   “When I fought that last duel with Riddle, I had Draco’s wand and he had the Elder Wand, thinking he was its master. He was wrong about this and that is how I was able to defeat and kill him. When he threw the killing curse at me, it rebounded, the Elder wand flew out of his hand and I caught it. The same sort of thing seems to have happened with Sally. The curse rebounded, destroyed Slytherin and the wand flew out of his hand and came to Sally.”<br/>   “Which seems to suggest,” added Hermione, “that Sally’s wand is actually the Elder Wand and the one Slytherin had was a copy. That’s what Mr. Ollivander was getting at, wasn’t he?”<br/>   "Yeah, I think so,” replied Harry. “The big question is whether Slytherin is actually dead or, like Riddle after he tried to kill me, left in a sort of limbo without a body.”<br/>   “You mean he could come back?” Sam looked and sounded nervous and glanced quickly around. Before Harry reassured her.<br/>   “It’s possible but very unlikely to be any time soon. It was many years before Riddle reappeared. But I don’t know about the goblins. If Sally’s up to it I think we should leave.”<br/>   “Harry, where were you all when we got down here?” As he asked the question, Tom pointed towards the left-hand archway Sally had found. “Were you through there?”<br/>   “Yeah. There’s another chamber at the end of a short tunnel but it’s much smaller than this one. That’s where we were taken by the goblins and that’s where they tied our hands. It seems to be their base down here. Why do you ask?”<br/>      “I wondered if there is another way out through there. I don’t know if Sally’s up to all those wonky steps up to the bathroom.”<br/>   “We don’t really know. We were so taken up by the goblins and what they might do to us that we didn’t take much notice of anything else, did we?” Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and they nodded their agreement before Ron made a suggestion.<br/>   “Tell you what, why don’t Harry and I go and have a look. You lot stay here and look after Sally. It won’t take us long. Come on, mate.” These last words were addressed to Harry and before Hermione or anyone else could say anything further, the two of them walked over to the left had side of the cavern and disappeared behind the furthermost snake statue.<br/>Tom sat down on the ground and pulled his back-pack towards him. Putting in his hand in once more, he pulled out a loaf of bread, two bottles of water and a large lump of cheese.<br/>   “I think we could all do with a bite to eat and drink,” he said, “courtesy of Mr. Aberforth Dumbledore!”<br/>   “Tom, you’re a marvel! What haven’t you got in that back-pack of yours!?”<br/>   “No kitchen sink, Sam. Sorry to disappoint.”<br/>   The bread and cheese proved very popular with all of them. Even Sally had a little although the water was what she needed most. She was now able to speak normally if a little hesitantly and the first thing she asked was what had happened to her. Hermione explained again what they saw but before Sally could ask anything further, Harry and Ron returned. They sat down on the ground and tucked into some bread and cheese, swigging water from one of the two bottles being passed around.<br/>   “Well, what’s through there then,” asked Sam. “Do you think there’s a way out?”<br/>   “We still don’t really know, do we Ron.” Harry looked at his friend as he spoke. “There is a tunnel on the far side of the cavern that obviously leads somewhere. We went a little way in but as it was going down and not up, it didn’t seem like a way out.”<br/>   “Maybe worth a look, though,” added Ron between mouthfuls. “If we can avoid all those steps up to the bathroom, I’m sure ‘<em>The Girl Who Lived</em>’ will be grateful! Also, if we can get out that way, maybe we can avoid those blasted the goblins if they’re still lurking around in Hogwarts.”<br/>   All agreed this was sensible advice so after about ten minutes, during which time most of the bread and cheese was eaten and the water drunk, and after Harry, Ron and Tom collected up all the wands they could find - this was Hermione’s idea - and hidden them behind one of the snake statues, they all headed for the left-hand archway.</p>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 20<br/>Wednesday 10th June</p><p>In which further discoveries are made</p><p>   Harry was right. After entering the left-hand archway, a walk of only a short distance - some fifty yards or so - brought the six of them to a chamber considerably smaller than the one they had just left. By the light of the wands that Hermione, Harry and Ron had picked up – the one they had with them had been taken by the goblins - they could see it was roughly rectangular and there were wooden benches lining the two longer walls. In the centre, there was a large wooden table upon which were some goblets and stale crusts of bread on pewter plates. Over to the right was a tunnel leading back in the general direction from which they had come. Harry explained it led back to the Chamber of Secrets and came out on the other side of the carved face, the tunnel Sally had pointed out to Sam and Tom.<br/>   “It’s over there.” Ron pointed to the far wall where in the semi-darkness they could all make out a darker area in the middle. They walked over to what was indeed the entrance to a tunnel and looked in at the inky blackness within.<br/>   “Right,” said Hermione decisively. “Let’s see if it is another way out. I think it’s best if Harry and Ron go first, then Sam, Sally and Tom and I’ll bring up the rear. That way we’ve got wands at the front and back, a bit like we did it at Chanctonbury Ring.”<br/>   “What about Sally’s?” This came from Tom.<br/>   “Sally’s what?”<br/>   “Sally’s two wands. Do they count as extra ones after what just happened?”<br/>   “I don’t know Tom. I think it could be risky to try and use either of them. Come on, let’s see where this tunnel leads.”<br/>   Yet again, the six of them found themselves deep underground, not knowing where they would end up. The tunnel they entered was about five feet across and high enough so that none of them had to stoop which was very welcome. The floor was smooth and the walls rough-hewn. There was no sign of damp anywhere which was a surprise, considering how deep they were. The air was cool but not cold and this was also welcome. Whoever had built this underground system, Tom thought, had chosen well.<br/>   After walking for five minutes, there was still no sign of an end to the tunnel. More worrying, they had been slowly but steadily descending from the moment they entered. Harry and Ron had gone on ahead of the others and although the wavering light coming from their wands could be seen reflected off the walls and ceiling, of the pair there was no sign. This was because the tunnel bent occasionally to the left and right, obscuring them from view. This remained the case for another couple of minutes and then Harry’s voice could be heard echoing down the tunnel.<br/>   “Hang on Ron, there’s something up ahead.”<br/>   When they caught up the pair, Hermione, Sam, Sally and Tom found them standing in front of a wooden door. Unlike the strange circular door with the snakes, this was a conventional one of the size and shape of doors everywhere, at least in the Muggle world. It was obvious to all that it was very, very old and Tom reckoned that it would have long since rotted away were it not for the exceptionally dry conditions. The wood was reinforced with iron bands and held in place by a pair of rusting hinges. It did not appear to be locked - there was no sign of a key or keyhole - and it looked as if it might have been opened quite recently. There were marks on the floor of the tunnel where the bottom of the door had made contact; and there was further evidence that someone had been here quite recently. Hermione bent down for a closer look.<br/>   “Footprints,” she said, “and they’ve not been made by the goblins; they are much too large. That leaves Slytherin, I suppose, but what would he be doing all the way down here?”<br/>   No one had the answer to that but Hermione’s mention of him made them all feel uneasy, especially Sally. Harry pointed to the rusty iron ring which served as a handle and looked round at the others enquiringly.<br/>   “Go for it, mate! We’ve come this far.” This came from Ron.<br/>   Harry looked at Hermione and she nodded, raising her wand as she did so. Harry took hold of the iron ring and pulled. The door opened easily enough with a slight protest from its old hinges and a scraping sound as the bottom made further contact with the floor of the tunnel. Raising his wand, Harry stepped forward and disappeared from view before reappearing a moment later with a puzzled expression on his face.<br/>   “It looks safe to go in but I don’t know what to make of what I have seen. It looks like some sort of burial place, some sort of crypt. There are what look like tombs in there. It’s a bit creepy. Come and have a look.”<br/>   One by one they entered the chamber. Hermione went first, followed by Ron. Sam and Sally followed. Tom was the last to enter and the first thing he saw was that this space was even smaller than the one they had just left. It wasn’t much bigger than a large dining room. The ceiling was low - if you raised an arm you could touch it - and in the middle were what looked like four tombs placed very close together. Tom walked over to where the others were gathered by the one nearest the door and saw it was made of stone with strange patterns engraved on the lid. Like the door, it looked very, very old and the stonework was crumbling in places. His eye travelled to the other three tombs to his right and they looked very much the same although there was something different about the far one. Leaving the others, he walked over to have a look and saw that there was no lid. He peered in. It appeared to be empty although it was difficult to be sure as it was dark inside. Tom pulled out his torch and the beam picked out a small object in the middle of the base. He looked more closely and then straightened up and called to the others.<br/>   “There’s something in this one. From what you’ve told us about it, I think it’s Slytherin’s locket!”<br/>   The others quickly joined Tom and peered into the empty tomb. Hermione, Harry and Ron saw straight away that it was indeed Slytherin’s locket.<br/>   “It’s a bit scary seeing it again.” Ron looked at Harry as he spoke.<br/>   “Yeah, it is. I thought we’d pretty much destroyed it. Mr. O. certainly did a good job repairing it. It looks as good as new.”<br/>   “Do you think it could be a different one,” asked Sam. “Maybe Slytherin had several of them.”<br/>   “I don’t think so,” replied Hermione. “This is almost certainly the only one ever made; and don’t forget we have seen Slytherin down here, haven’t we? We know he’s here - was here, anyway - and it looks like it was him under Chanctonbury Ring when Mr. O. was there. It’s the locket alright and I think we ought to leave it where it is. It’s caused us enough trouble!”<br/>   “What’s it doing in an empty tomb?” This came from Sally who had backed away and was standing nervously behind Sam, still clutching the two wands.<br/>   “I don’t know,” replied Hermione,” but I think I know who these tombs belong to and why one is empty.” She straightened up and stepped over to the other three. She bent down and appeared to be examining what was on each of the lids before straightening up again and looking at the others. Her face bore a serious, almost reverential, expression as she explained.<br/>   “These three tombs belong to three of the four founders of Hogwarts. I cannot read all the runes because it’s a very ancient form of the writing I am not familiar with and also because they’re worn away in places. It’s the design in the centre gives it away. Look here.” Hermione pointed to the middle of the lid of the tomb nearest the door. There, carved into the stone was, unmistakably, a lion.<br/>   “Godric Gryffindor! And the two others must be...”<br/>   “Yes, Harry! You can just make out a badger and a raven, the symbols of Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw. The empty must be Slytherin’s. Remember, he left Hogwarts after falling out with Godric Gryffindor, so he was never buried here when he died.”<br/>   “He only seems to have died a short while ago!” This came firm Tom.<br/>   “Possibly,” replied Hermione, “but I guess he’s been sort of asleep for a thousand years or more under Chanctonbury Ring. How he managed that we’ll probably never know. I don’t think horcruxes had anything to do with it but there was something in his locket that maybe was awakened when Ron destroyed the horcrux Riddle placed in there, or maybe when Mr. Ollivander repaired it. He did say it had some sort of hold over him. As I say, we’ll probably never know.” Hermione stopped speaking and looked around her.<br/>   “It doesn’t look as though there’s any other way out down here. We’ll have to go back the way we came in.” She looked across at Sally who had walked over to the wall on the far side of the tombs.<br/>   “Are you OK with that, Sally...Sally?”<br/>   Sally had been facing the far wall and started turning round when she heard Hermione speak to her. As she did so the others noticed something had changed. It took a moment to work out what it was and Sam was the first to react.<br/>   “Sally! Your wands! One of them is glowing!”</p>
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<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 21<br/>Wednesday 10th June</p>
<p>In which yet another discovery is made and steps have to be retraced</p>
<p>   It took a moment for Sally to react. She looked puzzled for a moment before taking in what she had been told and looking at the two wands gripped tightly in her right hand. She uttered a cry and dropped them both at her feet, backing hastily away. Hermione stepped forward and picked them up.<br/>   “It’s OK, they’re not dangerous.” She held out the wand that was glowing. “Which one is it, the one Slytherin had or yours?”<br/>   “It’s mine I think.” Sally had regained her composure and steeped forward tentatively to look more closely. “Yeah, it’s the one from the flowerpot and....oh, look!” She pointed at the wall behind where Hermione was standing. It was shimmering and seemed to be dissolving. Hermione turned round and then quickly took several steps back so that she was standing with the others, their backs up against the four tombs.<br/>   The rock continued to shimmer and dissolve. There was no noise so any comparison with the brick wall that allowed entry into Diagon Alley from The Leaky Cauldron was quickly dispelled. In another minute an archway could be seen leading into what looked like yet another chamber. No one moved until Hermione pointed out that the light from the tip of Sally’s wand had gone out and another seemed to have come on in the small chamber that lay before them. Like that of the wand it was very dim, a small yellow glow, doing little to illuminate the chamber and give them some idea of what was in there.<br/>   “Right!” This time it was Harry sounding assertive. “Come on Ron, let’s have a look.” He tuned to the others. “You all wait here.”<br/>   “You really want us to go in there? I mean, it doesn’t seem to be a way out so why don’t we just leave it and go back the way we came. If we go in there we might - I don’t know - wake something up. Think of Fluffy!”<br/>   “Ron, if there was a three-headed dog in there it would have come out by now and probably bitten you on the bum!”<br/>   “What did you just say? A three-headed dog called Fluffy?” This came from Tom. “You must be joking!”<br/>   “No, we’re not,” Ron sounded slightly aggrieved. “It was guarding the Philosopher’s Stone and the name was Hagrid’s idea of a joke.”<br/>   “Three-headed dogs, lions on the lids of tombs, Aberforth Dumbledore’s goats! That snake thing we saw in the Chamber of Secrets. If I was to write a story about all that has happened, I would call it ‘Chimaera’!”<br/>   “What are you banging on about now, mate? Honestly, you Muggles are daft as brushes!”<br/>   “I’ll tell you what he’s on about, Ron. In the old Greek myths there was a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and a snake’s tail. Am I right, Tom?<br/>   “Spot on Sam! There’s hope for scientists after all!”<br/>   “So you keep telling me! Hello, where’s Hermione?” As she spoke, Sam was looking around. There was no sign of her but then, reassuringly, they heard her voice.<br/>   “I’m in here. Come on, there’s no danger, just another tomb. Come and have a look.”<br/>   Cautiously, Sam, Sally and Tom entered the small chamber and looked anxiously around. Like its larger counterpart, it was rectangular, dry and if not exactly warm, not especially cold. The walls were rough- hewn and there was a small recess in the far one in which a small globe glowed with a pale yellow light. It was roughly the size of a tennis ball and Sam was quick to see a similarity with something they had encountered before.<br/>   “That little ball of light,” she said excitedly, pointing to the recess, “reminds me of what we saw up at Chanctonbury!”<br/>   Hermione came over and peered at it more closely before agreeing that it certainly did look very similar.<br/>   “It could well have the same origin,” she added, “but what puzzles me is the tomb in here.” She pointed to what stood squarely in the middle of the small chamber. It filled most of the available space, leaving only a narrow gap of about three feet between its sides and the walls of the chamber.<br/>   “I think we can be certain that the three tombs back there,” Hermione continued, pointed behind her, “belong to the three founders of Hogwarts with the fourth for Slytherin, one that he never occupied because he left. So, who does this one belong to?”<br/>   “Perhaps he didn’t want to be buried with people he fell out with and this is actually his,” suggested Sam.<br/>   “I suppose it’s possible,” agreed Hermione, “but why leave the locket back there? If this is Slytherin’s, he would have placed it in here wouldn’t he? And look at how old it is. If Slytherin returned and built himself another burial place at a later date, surely it would look a bit newer that the others and maybe have some sort of snake design and writing on it.”<br/>   The others agreed with what Hermione was saying but no one had any further suggestions. Sam bent down and traced a finger over the side of the tomb nearest the far wall. She then peered more closely before standing up and looking at the others.<br/>   “Have you noticed it’s made of a different material?”<br/>   “What do you mean,” asked Sally.<br/>   “Well, the four tombs in there are made of the same rock type as the chamber. I don’t know what it is but it looks like some sort of igneous or metamorphic rock. That would make sense because we are in Scotland which has some of the oldest rocks in the country. Now I’m not saying this is younger but it’s definitely different.”<br/>   “Sam’s right.” Tom had bent down to take a closer look before straightening up. “And I think I’ve seen it before - well, not necessarily seen it but read about it. The trouble is I can’t remember when and where.”<br/>   “It looks a bit like the night sky,” added Sally. “It’s sort of very dark blue with little white bits like stars.”<br/>   “Yeah, it does and that’s what I remember reading about.”<br/>   “Well,” put in Hermione, “we’re not going to solve the mystery by standing here so I suggest we head home, back the way we came and hope we don’t run in to any goblins!”<br/>   All agreed this was a good idea and with one last look around, they left the small chamber with the solitary tomb It was when they were all out that Sally asked them to wait for her. She asked Hermione to give her the two wands and disappeared back into the small chamber, reappearing a few moments later without them.<br/>   “I think it’s a good idea to leave them both in there,” she explained. “They should be safe from anyone getting hold of them ever again.”<br/>   “That’s a great idea, Sally.” Harry moved over and put an arm round her shoulder. “Had I known that this place existed, I would have done the same thing. I thought the Elder Wand – or the copy as we now think it is - it would be safe back in Professor Dumbledore’s tomb but, well, we now know I was wrong.”<br/>   “Harry, none of us could have foreseen Slytherin’s return, not in a million years. You mustn’t blame yourself at all.”<br/>   Hermione stopped speaking and joined the others in front of the archway from which Sally had just emerged. As they looked, they noticed that the small strange glowing globe in the recess on the far wall was growing dimmer and dimmer until it went out all together. And then a curious mist seemed to be forming, growing thicker and thicker until it was indistinguishable from the rock on either side. Tom moved forward cautiously and put his hand tentatively on a spot in the middle of where the archway was a few moments ago.<br/>   “Solid rock!” he told them. “Incredible!”<br/>   With that they turned round and headed back the way they had come.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 22<br/>Thursday 11th June</p><p>In which Ron gets a surprise</p><p>   Despite being exhausted after all that had happened the previous day, Sam was awake early on the Thursday. She lay in bed, turning over in her mind the extraordinary events of the past twenty-four hours. It had been late in the evening when they had all finally arrived back at the Hog’s Head Inn and been grateful for a meal waiting for them when they got in. The food and drink had revived them sufficiently to tell Peggy, Mr. Ollivander and Aberforth what had happened after they had found the bathroom thanks to Pigwidgeon; how they had descended the roughly-cut steps down into the tunnel leading to the Chamber of Secrets where they came across the goblins and Hermione, Ron and Harry. When they described the events surrounding first the appearance and then the disappearance of Slytherin, Mr. Ollivander had almost leapt out of his chair, more excited than he was on being shown all the wands the goblins had discarded and which Harry and Ron had collected up and brought back for him. He had explained again, once they had all been sitting in Aberforth’s sitting room with goblets of butterbeer and cups of tea, that in his opinion what happened confirmed that Sally’s wand was indeed the Elder Wand and that first Riddle and then Slytherin had used the copy, substituted by Bathilda Bagshot. For both of them, Mr. Ollivander had added, the outcome had been most unfavourable.<br/>   Sam yawned, stretched and turned to look at the beds occupied by Sally and Hermione. Both beds were empty. More concerned about Sally after all she’d been through, Sam jumped out of bed and made for the door before checking herself and turning back to the window. There was her friend in the garden below her, and as she looked down, Aberforth came out of the back door with some carrots which he passed to her. He then undid the catch on the shed in which his goats spent the night and they trotted out and were each given a carrot. Sally and Mr. Dumbledore, Sam thought, looked very much at ease in each other’s company.<br/>   Relieved that all was well with her friend, Sam washed, got dressed and went downstairs. There she found Peggy, Mr. Ollivander and Hermione seated at the table in the kitchen. They made room for her and Peggy poured a cup of tea while Hermione pushed the toast rack in her direction.<br/>   “Are Ron and Harry OK?” Sam asked between mouthfuls.<br/>   “Yes, I’m sure they are. Just being typically lazy boys! They’ll be down at some point, if we’re lucky, and then we need to talk about getting home.”<br/>   “Oh my goodness, yes we must!” exclaimed Peggy. “The neighbour looking after my cat must be wondering what’s happened to me! You know, I’d almost forgotten I have another life!”<br/>   “And we’re going to be in big trouble at school, Sally” added Sam. “It’s over a month until the end of term and everybody may be back by now after the floods. What are we going to do?”<br/>   Suddenly reality intruded after what seemed an eternity of what Sam called fantasy. Mr. Ollivander laughed and pointed out that what she regarded as fantasy was a way of life for him and the others. He did agree, however, that there were practical considerations for all of them to consider.<br/>   “For myself,” he continued, “I will have more than enough to do sorting out all the wands you kindly brought back for me and which are almost certainly the ones taken from my shop. It is going to take a considerable amount of time identifying them and, where possible, getting a number reunited with their rightful owners.” Mr. Ollivander turned to Peggy. “Maybe when you are settled back home, you might like to pay me a visit and lend a hand in the shop.”<br/>   “I would be more than happy to help, Garrick, but I’m not as well-versed in wand lore as you are. I’ll need a few lessons!” Another thought seemed to strike her and her face fell as she turned to Sally. “Oh dear, your parents, Sally! I promised to keep an eye on you when you first came to Steyning Grammar School and now look where you are! They must be worried sick. We must get word to them as soon as possible, and the same goes for the others.”<br/>   Harry and Ron appeared half an hour later and after they had had some breakfast, joined everyone upstairs in Aberforth’s sitting room. Now that the time had come to leave, no one knew what to say. Peggy broke the silence by thanking Aberforth for putting them up and he replied it had been a pleasure and why didn’t they stay a few more days. Mr. Ollivander thought this a lovely idea but said they all had matters to attend to and really should be on their way very soon. He turned to Ron.<br/>   “Ron, do you think you are up to driving that old train all the way back to London?”<br/>   “Of course I am, Mr. O.”<br/>   “I think you can do better than that, boy.” This came from Aberforth.<br/>   “What do you mean?”<br/>   “I mean, Mr. Weasley, that you can do better than taking that old piece of scrap metal all the way down to London.”<br/>   “She’s not a piece of scrap metal!” Ron sounded aggrieved. “She got us all the way up here and she will get us all the way back.”<br/>   I’m sure she would, boy, but that’s not what I meant. What I meant was why don’t you take the Hogwarts Express.”<br/>   “Wha...” Ron was suddenly speechless.<br/>   “The goblins brought the Hogwarts Express up here but they seem to have vanished; and good riddance, I say. It needs to be back in London to bring the next lot of students up to the school. You can help us all by taking it back, unless you feel you can’t drive it.” Aberforth paused and winked at Sally who grinned.<br/>   “No, that won’t be a problem at all.” Ron now sounded very excited. “I’m sure the controls will be exactly the same as in the other train.”<br/>   “That’s settled then,” Aberforth got to his feet as he spoke. “George Crimble is in the bar. I’ll go and ask him to get the Hogwarts Express ready for you. He’s the one the blasted goblins forced into driving it for them. He’ll be glad to see the back of them, I can tell you! He was worried what they’d do to his family if he refused. I’d ask him to drive it but it would probably make him nervous after all he’s been through.”<br/>Aberforth left them and went down to the bar and while he was away, they all went to their respective bedrooms to collect up the few things they might have brought with them and to make sure the rooms were tidy. Hermione asked Harry and Ron if she should inspect theirs after they had tidied up. Ron said only after he and Harry had inspected hers. Hermione glared at him for a moment and then everybody, including herself, burst into laughter.<br/>   Aberforth returned shortly to say that George was only too pleased to help and was on his way to light the fire in the firebox and see that there was sufficient coal and water for the journey. He turned to Sally.<br/>   “Well, girl, I am going to miss our time in the garden and the help you have been giving me with my goats. They are going to miss you. You have a natural way with them.”<br/>   “I shall miss them too, and you as well, of course. You have been very kind to all of us.”<br/>   “I’m only sorry we never found out who your birth parents were. Bathilda seems to have been very careful to make sure the information about you and other adopted children at that terrible time did not fall into the wrong hands.” Aberforth paused and pointed at the framed poster on the wall. “I suppose the least I can now is to read her blasted book. She was most insistent, even though she knew I’m not much if a reader. To be honest, I find reading and writing a bit of a struggle and always have; not like that clever brother of mine who always had his nose buried in some book or other when we were growing up!”<br/>   “Excuse me Aberforth,” put in Mr. Olivander. “I am somewhat confused. Are you saying Bathilda insisted you read her <em>Omens, Oracles and the Goat</em>? I have and it’s not easy reading I can tell you, even if there is mention of a goat in the title to encourage you.”<br/>   “She was most insistent,” replied Aberforth. “I was to keep it safe, she said, and look at it more closely when the danger had passed, whenever that was supposed to be! Take it and keep it safe, she told me.”<br/>   “Maybe there aren’t too many copies,” suggested Sam, “and she didn’t want to lose one of the few in print.”<br/>   “No, that is certainly not the case,” replied Mr. Ollivander. “Like her History if Magic, it is still in print. There must be hundreds of copies out there. Also this ‘take it and keep it safe’ seems to me to be referring to the poster rather than the book. Do you actually have a copy of <em>Omens, Oracles and the Goat,</em> Aberforth?”<br/>   “Now you come to mention it, Garrick, no I don’t. I may I have a copy of her <em>History of Magic</em> somewhere. Haven’t read that either!”<br/>   “So, if you do not have a copy and Bathilda did not actually offer to give you a book, surely she was referring to the poster you have there on the wall there when she said you were to keep it safe and look at it closely when the danger has passed.”<br/>   “You could be right but I don’t see why she would be so insistent. Of course I’m not going to get rid of it if that’s what she was worried about. It’s one of the few things of hers I have left; and as for looking at it more closely, well I see the blasted thing all the time when I’m up here, don’t I.”<br/>   While Aberforth was speaking, Hermione had stood up and walked over to look at the framed poster which hung on the wall to the left of the fireplace. She looked round at Mr. Ollivander?<br/>   “If you’re right and Bathilda was referring to the poster rather than to the book then ... Mr. Dumbledore, would you mind if I took it down from the wall?”<br/>   “No, girl, I don’t mind but I don’t see the point of it.”<br/>   “Thanks.” Hermione unhooked the cord from the nail in the wall and carefully brought the picture frame over to the small table by the fireplace. She turned it over carefully and examined it. The room fell silent. After what seemed an inordinately long time but which was probably less than a minute, she straightened up and looked at Tom who was next to her.<br/>   “Do you think the back’s been opened up recently?”<br/>   “Depends on what do you mean by recently.”<br/>   “I don’t know really but...alright...do you think it’s been opened since the poster was put in it?”<br/>   “I don’t see how...”<br/>   “... er, Tom,” interrupted Sam.<br/>   “What?”<br/>   “When I came to stay with you in Cambridge, you had lots of framed pictures and photos around the house and you said some of them were of your relatives who had been photographed in that department store which isn’t there anymore.”<br/>   “Eden Lilleys in the Market Place. What of it?”<br/>   “I remember you took one down to look at the back where, you said, your dad had written who was in the photo - your great grandfather, I think. I noticed there was brown sticky tape between the backing and the frame, presumably to keep the dust out. There isn’t any here.”<br/>   “That doesn’t mean...”<br/>   “No, Tom, Sam’s right! This poster has been in the frame for many years, I would guess, and there’s no tape of any sort round the edge. And...” Hermione pointed to one of the tacks holding the backing in place, “that’s looks newer than the others. I really think the back’s been removed since the poster was put in!” She turned to look at Aberforth who raised a hand.<br/>   “I know what you’re going to ask, girl. I don’t know what you expect to find but go on and don’t damage it.”<br/>   “Thanks, I’ll be careful. Tom, have you got your penknife?”<br/>   Tom bent down and pulled it out of the backpack on the floor at his feet. He passed it to Hermione who inserted the blade carefully under one of the tacks, raising it slightly. She was then able to grasp it between her thumb and first finger and with a bit of wiggling remove it from the frame. There were six tacks in all so it took her a while to work all of them free but when she had done so, she carefully inserted the penknife blade under the backing and lifted it up. Underneath were two sheets of thick yellowing paper and beneath them several page of something instantly familiar to Sally and Sam.<br/>   “The missing pages from the ledger, the ones recording the adoptions, they have to be!” Sally turned excitedly to Sam.<br/>   “Yeah, they certainly look like them. Oh Sally, do you think...?” She didn’t get any further because Hermione, who was carefully removing them as they spoke, gasped as she picked up a blue envelope which lay beneath and looked at the name written on it in thin spidery writing. She handed it to Sally, an expression of utter astonishment on her face.<br/>   “Look Sally, a letter ... addressed to you!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 23<br/>Thursday 11th June</p><p>In which Sally finally learns something of her background</p><p>   For a few moments Sally did not move, the envelope still held in her outstretched hand. Then she brought it closer and turned it round in her hand, studying it before reaching for Tom’s penknife which lay on the table next to the picture frame. She inserted the blade under the flap and made a slit. Inside were several sheets of handwritten paper, blue in colour to match the envelope. She looked at them for a few more moments before turning to Sam.<br/>   “I...I can’t. You read it...please.”<br/>   “Are you sure? It’s addressed to you.”<br/>   “I know but I just...can’t. Please.”<br/>   “OK, if that’s what you want.”<br/>   Sally nodded and Sam took the letter, studied the first page for a moment then began to read:</p><p>
  <em>My dear Sally</em>
</p><p>
  <em>   Please forgive me for beginning with an over-used phrase from one of those those dreadful Muggle thrillers. Unfortunately, it best describes the situation which is that when you read this, I will almost certainly be dead!</em>
  <br/>
  <em>   Although he does not know it, I have entrusted this letter and some pages torn out of a record book of mine to my dear old friend Aberforth Dumbledore. They are hidden behind a poster I gave him many years ago. Of course, you may already know this if you are reading the letter but what you may not know and will no doubt be wondering about is why I went to all this trouble to hide the information it contains. I had to do this because had it come to light, your life and that of others would almost certainly have been in very grave danger.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>   So that you understand more fully, I need to take you back to Godric’s Hollow and a small birthday party on July 31st 1981.This was for the son of two very good friends and neighbours, James and Lily Potter.</em>
</p><p>   Sam stopped reading and looked over at Harry.<br/>   “That’s your family, isn’t it?”<br/>   “Yeah it is, but why is she bringing me and my parents into this?” Harry looked and sounded puzzled.<br/>   “Only one way to find out, mate! Go on, Sam.” This came from Ron.<br/>   Sam looked at Sally who gave a small nod. She then looked down at the letter and continued to read:</p><p>
  <em>   The party, if you can call it that - I was the only guest - took place on the day their son Harry turned one year old; and it was then that Lily confided in me that she was pregnant again. She begged me to look after her children in the event of anything happening to her or James. This took me rather by surprise but I promised I would. I should mention that they were both members of The Order of the Phoenix, an organisation set up by Albus Dumbledore to fight Voldemort. By 1981 many of its members had already been killed. Reassuringly for me, Lily and James had been in hiding since 1979 following a dreadful prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney regarding their son.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>   Be that as it may, throughout the summer of 1981 all seemed well with the Potters. And then early in September, I learned of two things. As Lily and James’s continued to remain in grave danger, the headmaster of Hogwarts School, Albus Dumbledore, suggested protecting their hiding place with a Fidelius Charm, a fateful decision as it turned out. The second bit of news was more heartening, the birth of Lily’s second child.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>   The Potter family remained hidden and safe and as the end of October drew near, I was beginning to breathe more freely. Then on Saturday 31st disaster struck. Someone called Peter Pettigrew betrayed their whereabouts to Voldemort who came to their cottage. He confronted James in the front garden. James tried to distract him while calling to Lily to take Harry and run. He only mentioned Harry, of course. He would not have wanted to alert Voldemort to his sister’s existence - remember, no one knew of her birth except me - but hoped that his wife would snatch up both children and escape. There was no time. When Voldemort entered the cottage after killing James, Lily refused to stand aside and abandon Harry who was the main target because of the prophecy. He killed her and turned his wand on the child. However, the spell rebounded and all but destroyed him.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>   I quickly knew from the noise, the smoke and the flames that something was very wrong and rushed over. A terrible sight met my eyes. Both James and Lily lay dead but Harry was alive despite having a nasty-looking cut over his right eye. The cottage was on fire and I was very worried for the safety of their baby daughter. As Harry was in no immediate danger, I ran through to the back room where she slept. I was only just in time. The room was filling with smoke, and flames were licking round the wooden cot in which she was sitting up and crying. I snatched her up, cot and all, and headed for the front door, checking that Harry was still safe. My plan was to get her to my own cottage and then return for him; but that never happened. When I started back, Hagrid was standing outside. It took me a moment to work out how this could be, how anyone could appear so soon after these dreadful events. Then I realised that Albus Dumbledore would have known immediately something was wrong. He was the person who set up the Fidelius Charm and instant awareness of change is one of its attributes. It must have been he who sent Hagrid. I wondered if I should go across and speak to him but at that moment two further events caused me to hold back. The first was that somebody else had joined Hagrid in front of the cottage. It was quite dark by this time so I couldn’t actually see who it was. The second was more worrying. The noise and commotion had alerted several Muggles and I could hear them coming up the road. Hagrid and whoever was with him must have heard them too because they disappeared quickly into the cottage and in a very short time I saw Hagrid leave with Harry on some sort of flying contraption.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>   I returned home and sat down, very shaken by what I had seen and deeply upset over the deaths of Lily and James. I was also wondering what I was going to do with a baby girl less than two months old. I was an old lady, unmarried and with no experience of babies or children.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>   It is at this point, Sally, that I will use another well-worn phrase from Muggle stories and say that if you are not doing so already, it may be an idea to sit down!</em>
</p><p>   Sam stopped reading for a second time and looked anxiously at her friend.<br/>   “This sounds bad. You are actually sitting down but...do you really want me to continue?”<br/>   “I think you should,” put in Hermione in a quiet voice. “I don’t think Sally’s going to hear bad news at all. In fact, I think it’s the opposite and she...well...can Sam continue, Sally?”<br/>   Sally paused and looked around the room. No one said anything although Mr. Ollivander was nodding sagely and looking at her, a kindly expression in his face. She turned back to Sam who had her hand in front of her mouth and nodded. Sam looked       down at the letter, turned the sheet over and read on:</p><p>
  <em>   I do, of course, have no idea where you are or who you are with. Nor do I know whether you are alive or dead. I hope very much the former, along with Harry, because, my dear Sally, he is your brother...</em>
</p><p>   It is difficult to describe the scenes that followed this astounding revelation. Sam uttered a scream and dropped the sheets she had in her hand. They fluttered to the floor and there they stayed for several minutes before being retrieved by Peggy. Sally seemed to sway and be on the point of falling off her chair until Tom put out a hand and steadied her. Harry appeared to have gone into a trance. Still seated, he was staring straight ahead at nothing in particular, his arms held ridgedly to his side.    Hermione and Ron were looking from him to Sally and back again in a parody two tennis spectators. Peggy, Mr. Ollivander and Aberforth had got to their feet and, like Hermione and Ron, were looking first at Sally and then Harry in utter bewilderment. Then Harry seemed to come out of his trance-like state and stood up. He went over to Sally and knelt on the floor at her feet. He took both her hands in his and looked up at her. There were tears in his eyes.<br/>   “Can...can this really be true, that I have a sister? That you are my sister?”<br/>   “Oh Harry, I don’t know what to think or say. I know my parents adopted me.” Sally turned to look at Sam and Tom. “You were both there when we asked them, weren’t you? They never said anything about having a brother!”<br/>   “Sally,” replied Sam gently, “you’re forgetting they knew nothing at all about your biological parents. Bathilda refused to tell them, remember? Like she’s saying in this letter, it was too dangerous. Shall I read on? Maybe she’ll explain a bit more.”<br/>Sally, still holding Harry’s hands in hers, nodded and Peggy, who had picked up the sheets of paper from the floor, passed them to Sam who found where she’d left off and continued reading out loud:</p><p>.<em>.. a brother from whom your existence was hidden because of the extreme danger at the time. That must have been extraordinarily difficult for Lily and James but they were helped by the fact that Harry was very young - just over a year old - and no one remembers events in their life from that early age. Also, I helped them as much as I could. Harry often spent time with me in my cottage so that Lily and James could see to you, Sally. I must add that he was in no way abandoned or neglected. Like you he was much loved and it was only out of cruel necessity that this action was taken.</em><br/><em>   I have only two further things to mention. You are probably wondering why, once Voldemort had disappeared and the danger passed, I did not inform your adoptive parents, Benedict and Kathryn Allbright of what I have just told you. Perhaps with hindsight I should have done so, but although Voldemort had vanished, there was always the possibility he might return at any moment. Also, his followers were still at large so Harry remained in danger and, by association, you as well.</em><br/><em>The years passed, Harry entered Hogwarts and there was still no sign of Voldemort although there were things happening which made me fearful of divulging your secret. Also, you were very happy in your new home. I knew this because, you may remember, I visited on several occasions. And then just when it seemed safe to let on who you were, Voldemort did return, on June 24th 1995, and it looked as if I would never have the opportunity to do so.</em><br/><em>   The final thing you need to know concerns the plant I gave you when you were very young. The plant itself is of no consequence. What holds it up is the important thing. Again, I have no way of knowing what you have discovered. It may be that the plant still lives - I chose an exceptionally long-living variety - and its secret remains undiscovered but what supports it, Sally, is actually a very powerful wand. I will say no more about it than that because it is a sense incidental to your story but you should know that I was its mistress and that now that I am dead, it has been rendered powerless.</em><br/><em>   Now, I do not know what sort of an influence, if any, the wand has had on you but it may well have had some sort of effect. My own assessment was that it has, despite being powerless, in some way protected you and maybe prevented any outpouring of magic on your part which might have been unhealthy and dangerous. As I say, there is much here that I do not know but if in any way it has been beneficial, then this is very possibly the best thing it has ever done. It is a wand usually associated with the darker side of human nature. It’s best if you keep it well hidden, Sally.</em></p><p>
  <em>I send you all my love and good wishes and hope the contents of this letter do not come as too much of a shock!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Your old and dear friend</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Bathilda</em>
</p><p>   Sam finished reading, replaced the sheets of paper in the envelope and put it on the table. She looked at Sally sitting in her chair with Harry still kneeling at her feet, holding both her hands in his, seemingly unwilling to let go in case his newly-acquired sister vanished. Nobody said anything until Aberforth cleared his throat noisily and spoke.<br/>   “This calls for a celebration so if you all would do me the kindness of joining me in the bar, I will endeavour to find something very special to do justice to this extraordinary piece of news. And when we have raised a glass to the...er...Happy Couple, we should raise another to Bathilda. And when we have done that, I think you should all be on your way to Hogsmeade Station because, unless I’m very much mistaken, you have a train to catch! And you boy,” Aberforth turned to Ron, “had better get down there very soon because you’re driving the blasted thing and George Crimble will be wondering where you’ve got to!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 24<br/>Thursday 10th September</p><p>In which Arthur Weasley is reassured</p><p>   “Cheer up, Arthur! I’d have thought that after all the amazing events, you’d be over the moon.”<br/>   “Over the moon? What do you mean by that, Peggy?”<br/>   “Oh, sorry, it’s a Muggle expression meaning very happy.”<br/>   “Right.”<br/>   Arthur Weasley put down his teacup, leaned back in the chair and sighed deeply. It was early in September and he was in Peggy Dey’s sitting room in Saxon Cottage in Steyning and had arrived, along with Garrick Ollivander, by Floo powder a couple of hours ago. Garrick was paying Peggy a social call although, as he admitted to her when he arrived, he had an ulterior motive which was to persuade her to come up to his shop and help him sort out his wands.<br/>   The purpose of Arthur Weasley’s visit was rather different. It was to check that the various actions he and his team had taken in the school and town at the beginning of the school year were sufficient to safeguard the integrity of the wizarding community. It was this action that was making him feel increasingly unhappy.<br/>   “Arthur.” Garrick leaned forward in his chair. “What Kingsley asked you to do was what would always need to be done in circumstances like these. To take no action might have resulted in exposing our world to theirs with all its attendant problems.”<br/>   “I understand that, Garrick, of course I do. It’s just that it seems so unfair and unjust to do these things to two people who have, let’s face it, played a major part in defeating an enemy who may have posed an even greater threat than Riddle did.”<br/>   “It was actually Sally who defeated him,” pointed out Peggy, “although I do agree Sam and Tom played their parts, too. Of course I see that. What did Kingsley feel about Sally’s situation, by the way?”<br/>   “He told me it caused him some difficulties until I reminded him she was actually Harry’s sister and that to wipe from her memory all that had happened was unthinkable. In the end he agreed with me. I then told him I thought Sam and Tom were completely trustworthy and had actually promised me when I first met them that they would never say anything to anybody. That’s what I find so unjust. I feel as if I have betrayed them.”<br/>   “I do understand that, Arthur, but despite all the promises in the world, there’s always the risk that something will slip out. Nothing deliberate, you understand, just an unguarded remark that raises a few Muggle eyebrows and gets them thinking.”<br/>   “I know Garrick, I know. I can’t argue with any of what you and Peggy are saying. It’s just that I felt these circumstances were so exceptional, they called for a different approach. Think of the way the six of then - and you two as well of course - were fêted all the way down from Hogsmeade to London.”<br/>   “That really was something I’ll never forget!” Peggy looked across at Mr. Ollivander as she spoke. “We had to stop at practically every station on the way down, didn’t we, and join in the parties they were having. Albert Grungewick had laid on a brass band! It took us hours and hours to reach King’s Cross!”<br/>   “And when we did,” added Garrick, “they had laid on a feast on the platform! It took me a week to recover from all the excitement.” He turned to Arthur. “You must be very proud of your Ron, driving that old train all the way up to Hogsmeade and then driving the Hogwarts Express all the way down. Where did he learn to do that?”<br/>   “I’m afraid I’m to blame. As you know, I’ve always had a fascination with Muggle technology – their cars, planes, telephones - things like that. When Ron was younger, I would explain how they worked and he developed an interest. But, yes, I am very proud of him and so glad that our family is back together after all the trouble. I am, of course, very proud of them all and it just seems such a dreadful shame that two will have no memory of all this.”<br/>   “Very sad, I agree, but at least you involved them up at Chanctonbury Ring after we all got back; and thanks for letting me come along as well, Arthur. It was quite an experience even if it was a bit scary.”<br/>   “You were very welcome, Peggy. I just hope somebody finds them soon and knows what to do with them.”<br/>   “I’ve just had a thought.” Garrick looked over at Arthur. “Had you not done what you had to do, they would be living with the memory of all they had been through which is completely at odds with their normal existence. The contradictions here may well have caused what Muggles call psychological harm. In our world we would probably be talking about a lengthy stay in St. Mungo’s!”<br/>   “There is that, I suppose. In effect, you are suggesting that wiping someone’s memory in circumstances like these is as much a benefit to the individual as it is a safeguard to our world.”<br/>   “Exactly, and you should take that thought away with you, Arthur, as it may set your mind at rest. And there’s something else. There’s nothing to stop Hermione, Harry and Ron meeting up with them, is there? Sally said she wished to continue at Steyning Grammar School so she’ll see them anyway and no doubt her brother and his friends will visit from time to time.”<br/>   “Garrick, you have just given me an idea!” This came from an excited-sounding Peggy but when asked what she had in mind, refused to say anything further.<br/>   “It’s a surprise,” she added, “now before you both leave, would anyone like another cup of tea?”</p>
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<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
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    <p>Chapter 25<br/>Thursday 17th September</p><p>In which Chris Rennard receives a telephone call</p><p>   On the following Thursday just before ten o’clock in the morning, Chris Rennard cycled down Church Street and turned into the car park by the library. He dismounted and approached the museum. He unlocked the door and wheeled his bicycle into the foyer where he propped it up on its stand. He then turned off the alarm and checked the post box before entering the museum proper. The telephone was ringing. He went over and picked up the receiver.<br/>   “Steyning Museum. Can I help you?”<br/>   “Is tha’ Steyning Museum?” The voice sounded like a rustic out of a Thomas Hardy novel.<br/>   “Yes, speaking.”<br/>   “Is that the Kur-a-tore?” The last word was split into three distinct syllables. Chris winced. He knew what was coming next.<br/>   “I’m the Curator, yes. What can I do for you?”<br/>   “Well, I got these ’ere arteeefacts, see.”<br/>   “What is it this time?”<br/>   “Bones but it’ll cost yer!<br/>   “I see. How much?”<br/>   “Lotsa dosh, mate! Lotsa dosh!” The voice had gone from West Country to East End. Chris sighed.<br/>   “Maybe you’d consider making these ’ere arteeefacts of yours over as a gift to the Museum?”<br/>   “Can’t do that! Gotta make a livin’ ain’t I?”<br/>   “Alright, George, what have you got now? Bones you said.”<br/>   “Yes, bones of some old Saxon found up where I live.”<br/>   “So, we’re talking about Steyning Man, are we? You’ve found Steyning Man.”<br/>   “Not me, Mr. Kur-at-ore, a lady walking her dog up at Chanctonbury Ring came across him.”<br/>   “George, I really do have better things to do than listen to this nonsense.”<br/>   “It’s not nonsense, Chris.” George Clockman reverted to his proper voice. “This is actually true! Mary Stephens lives just up the road from me and she likes taking her two Labradors up to Chanctonbury. She saw these bones and the sight of them terrified her. She thought there’d been a murder. It was only when she had a close took that she realised they were very old. She told me about it when she got home and I went up see what she’d found and recognised the skull as that of Steyning Man. I have him in my car down at the school. I’ll bring him up at breaktime. The bones are going to need a bit of sorting out. I may be wrong but I think one from his arm is missing.”<br/>   “George, this is the best bit of news in a long while and probably the most sensible conversation you and I have ever had! Now I’ve got to go, Kate and Paul have just arrived. ”<br/>   “What, those rogues? I don’t know why you let them anywhere near the museum!”<br/>   “Got to go, George, see you after eleven.”</p>
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<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 27</h2></a>
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    <p>Epilogue</p><p>   “What’s that you’re reading, Tom?”<br/>   “It’s a book I got out of the library about Stonehenge.”<br/>   “Stonehenge? That’s not part of your History syllabus, is it?”<br/>   “No, not at all, but I’m trying to sort something out that’s been bothering me.”<br/>   Tom and Sam were seated in the coffee bar area in Bennett’s and watching the quarter-final of the pool competition. As usual, Asa was winning. They both had a can of coke and were sharing a large packet of crisps.<br/>   “So, Stonehenge has been bothering you. That’s weird.”<br/>   “Well, not actually Stonehenge. It’s more a question of geology.”<br/>   “Now you’ve really lost me, Tom.”<br/>   “For some reason I can’t explain, I’ve been trying to remember something about a rock that resembles the night sky, sort of dark bluey-black with flecks of white that look like stars. It’s been on my mind, Sam, and I don’t know why. I can’t seem to shake it.”<br/>   “So, what’s this book on Stonehenge got to do with it?”<br/>   “I saw it in the library and it seemed to jog my memory in some way and...well...it’s given me the answer. The rock that looks like the night sky comes from the Presely Mountains in Pembrokeshire, South Wales and some of the standing stones at Stonehenge are made of it! They’re called Bluestones. There is a legend that they were taken there by Merlin."</p><p>   "What The wizard merlin who's part of the King Arthur Stories?"</p><p>   "That's right. I really can’t for the life of me remember why this has been on my mind.”<br/>   “Weird but can’t help you, I’m afraid.”<br/>   “Wasn’t expecting you to, but talking or weird, what about that party invitation we both got?” Tom put his hand in his jeans pocket and pulled out a piece of paper which he passed to Sam.<br/>   “Yeah, an invitation to a party in Saxon Cottage on Saturday from a lady called Peggy Deys. Why has she asked us, do you think”<br/>   “No idea. She’s the elderly lady who often waves to us as we go into school, isn’t she. We don’t actually know her, do we?”<br/>   “No, we don’t. Do you think she’s asked other boarders?”<br/>   “No one’s said anything. Do think we should go?”<br/>   “It might seem rude not to.”<br/>   “Oh, talking of parties, that’s just reminded me of something.”<br/>   “More rocks?”<br/>   “No, the end-of term Sixth Form Christmas Ball at Wilton House.”<br/>   “What of it?”<br/>   “Well, I was wondering...”<br/>   “Yes?”<br/>   “I was wondering whether...no...I don’t know...I...”<br/>   “Tom you are making less sense than you were a moment ago when you were banging on about Stonehenge! What were you wondering?”<br/>   “No, it doesn’t matter, Sam.”<br/>   “Yes, it does. Come on.”<br/>   “No, really it doesn’t. I should get back to my room and do some work.”<br/>   “You’re not leaving until you tell me what you’re wondering!”<br/>   “Oh, alright. I was wondering if anyone had asked you to go to the Ball with them.”<br/>   “Ah, I see. Well, actually Kevin asked me. I’m going with Kevin.”<br/>   “OK. Right. Well...I...er...better go and do some work then and...well, see you around.” Tom got up from his chair and headed for the door that led to the stairs to the upper floor of Bennett’s. He was just going through when he heard Sam’s voice.<br/>   “Tom, come back here, please.”<br/>   Tom closed the door and headed back towards Sam where he stood slightly awkwardly before her. Sam got up and took both his hands in hers, ignoring the sniggers and comments from other boarders close by.<br/>   “I’m not going to the ball with Kevin, Tom. He never asked me, I was just winding you up. Of course I’ll go with you, you idiot! I thought you’d never ask!”<br/>   “Really? You’re not just winding me up again?”<br/>   “No, I’m not. Cross my heart. How could I refuse someone with a strange affinity for rocks! Tom?...Tom? Earth to Tom.”<br/>   “What?...Oh, sorry. I’m now wondering where I’ve heard about someone having a strange affinity for something, sheep or goats or some such animals.”</p><p>***</p><p>   The sun went down and in the gathering darkness the trees on Chanctonbury Ring stood out starkly against the night sky. All was quiet save for the occasional rustle in the undergrowth as some small animal went about its business. It grew darker. A dog barked down in the valley and a fox crossed the clearing in the middle of the ancient hill fort, looking up at a ball of light in the trees. As it looked it grew larger and brighter before moving rapidly through the tress until it came to rest over another clearing where it stated to grow dim. In a short while, the light disappeared altogether leaving the place in darkness.</p><p>The End</p>
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